Bissell v. Akron General Medical Center

683 N.E.2d 57, 114 Ohio App. 3d 258, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 4159
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 25, 1996
DocketNo. 17760.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 683 N.E.2d 57 (Bissell v. Akron General Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bissell v. Akron General Medical Center, 683 N.E.2d 57, 114 Ohio App. 3d 258, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 4159 (Ohio Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

*259 Reece, Judge.

Appellant Yvonne Bissell appeals the decision of the trial court denying her “Motion to Allow Notice of Appeal.”

I

On November 1, 1992, Yvonne Bissell was injured in the course of her employment with appellee Akron General Medical Center (“AGMC”). AGMC certified Bissell’s workers’ compensation claim for the medical conditions of “contusion right knee and contusion left ankle.” Bissell received payment of medical and disability benefits based upon those conditions.

On November 3, 1993, AGMC moved the Industrial Commission of Ohio to terminate Bissell’s temporary total disability benefits. The district hearing officer denied the motion. AGMC appealed. The staff hearing officer granted the motion on April 19, 1994 and denied Bissell’s temporary total disability benefits from November 3, 1993 forward because the benefits were certified based on conditions (plantar fascitis, left foot and reflex dystrophy syndrome, left foot) that had not been allowed in the original claim. Bissell filed an appeal that was denied by the Industrial Commission in an order dated April 25, 1994. On July 8, 1994, Bissell filed a notice of appeal with the Summit County Court of Common Pleas.

Bissell moved the commission on January 19, 1995 for an additional allowance for “plantar fascitis, left foot and Achilles tendinitis, left foot.” The commission denied Bissell’s request. The commission issued a final order denying further appeal on November 16,1995.

On November 28, 1995, Bissell filed a “Motion to Allow Notice of Appeal” with the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. The trial court denied the motion on February 28,1996. This appeal followed.

II

Bissell assigns the following errors:

“1. The trial court erred in not accepting the Motion to Allow a Notice of Appeal on a question that was already pending in that trial court contrary to Civil Rule 42(A).
“2. The trial court erred in allowing a reply contrary to the local court rules for the courts of Summit County, Ohio being Rule 7.14 and not declaring a waiver or default judgment.
*260 “3. The trial court erred, if it did rule, that the claimant did not have a cause of action under ORC § 4123.512 for the appeal filed July 5,1994.”

For the ease of discussion, we will consider the assignments of error beginning with the third and concluding with the second.

A

In her third assignment of error, Bissell argues that the trial court erred in ruling that she had no cause of action for the notice of appeal she filed in the court of common pleas on July 5, 1994. She contends that this notice of appeal does pertain to her right to participate in the Workers’ Compensation Fund and therefore, under R.C. 4123.512, the trial court has jurisdiction over the appeal. We disagree.

The trial court appropriately determined that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider Bissell’s July 1994 appeal because the commission orders Bissell appealed did not constitute final determinations of her entitlement to benefits. The jurisdiction of common pleas courts over appeals from commission decisions is defined by R.C. 4123.512(A).

R.C. 4123.512(A) provides:

“The claimant or the employer may appeal an order of the industrial commission made under division (E) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code in any injury or occupational disease case, other than a decision as to the extent of disability, to the court of common pleas of the county in which the injury was inflicted or in which the contract of employment was made if the injury occurred outside the state, or in which the contract of employment was made if the exposure occurred outside the state.”

The Supreme Court of Ohio has interpreted this provision (formerly R.C. 4123.519[A]) narrowly, determining that only those decisions involving a claimant’s right to participate or to continue to participate in the Workers’ Compensation Fund are appealable to the court of common pleas. Felty v. AT&T Technologies, Inc. (1992), 65 Ohio St.3d 234, 236, 602 N.E.2d 1141, 1143. Despite the numerous cases decided on this issue, confusion remained involving the right to judicial review of commission decisions. The Supreme Court, in explaining litigants’ rights, clarified the issue in Felty, supra:

“The most limited form of judicial review of commission decisions is by direct appeal to the common pleas court. Because the workers’ compensation system was designed to give employees an exclusive statutory remedy for work-related injuries, ‘a litigant has no inherent right of appeal in this area * * *.’ Therefore, a party’s right to appeal workers’ compensation decisions to the courts is conferred solely by statute.
*261 a ‡ Hí ‡
“The courts simply cannot review all the decisions of the commission if the commission is to be an effective and independent agency. Unless a narrow reading of R.C. [4123.512] is adhered to, almost every decision of the commission, major or minor, could eventually find its way to the common pleas court. Thus, a long line of cases, with only a few deviations along the way, led to the formulation of this now-settled precept: The only decisions of the commission that may be appealed to the courts of common pleas under R.C. [4123.512] are those that are final and that resolve an employee’s right to participate or to continue to participate in the State Insurance Fund. * * *
“Notwithstanding the seemingly clear rule * * * questions persisted concerning the types of decisions that are appealable. The difficulty was the precise meaning of the term “right to participate.” The meaning of this term was specifically addressed in State ex rel. Evans v. Indus. Comm. [ (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 236, 594 N.E.2d 609].
“ * * * The rule we followed was stated in paragraph one of the syllabus: ‘An Industrial Commission decision does not determine an employee’s right to participate in the State Insurance Fund unless the decision finalizes the allowance or disallowance of the employee’s claim.’ ” Felty, 65 Ohio St.3d at 237-239, 602 N.E.2d at 1145.

Nevertheless, the rule stated in Evans, supra, has required further clarification. Confusion persists as to the meaning of the word “claim” in relation to the question of appellate jurisdiction. “A ‘claim’ in a workers’ compensation case is the basic or underlying request by an employee to participate in the compensation system because of a specific work-related injury or disease.” Felty, 65 Ohio St.3d at 239, 602 N.E.2d at 1145. Only the essential decision to grant, deny, or terminate the employee’s participation or continued participation in the system is appealable under R.C. 4123.512.

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683 N.E.2d 57, 114 Ohio App. 3d 258, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 4159, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bissell-v-akron-general-medical-center-ohioctapp-1996.