Hornback v. Industrial Commission

466 P.2d 806, 11 Ariz. App. 587, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 556
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMarch 24, 1970
DocketNo. 1 CA-IC 289
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 466 P.2d 806 (Hornback v. Industrial Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hornback v. Industrial Commission, 466 P.2d 806, 11 Ariz. App. 587, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 556 (Ark. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

STEVENS, Judge.

The question before this Court is whether The Industrial Commission of Arizona was correct in its award wherein it declared that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain the injured workman’s petition to reopen, a petition based upon an asserted new, additional or previously undiscovered disability. The problem arises because after the injured workman received an award which included both accident benefits and compensation for temporary disability, he sued a third party for damages arising out of his industrial injury and settled his civil action without securing the “written approval of the Commission, or the person liable to pay the claim.” See A.R.S. § 23-1023, subsec. C. These events transpired prior to the filing of his petition with The Industrial Commission seeking to reopen his workmen’s compensation claim.

The injured workman is S. C. Hornback sometimes referred to as Clarence Skeets Hornback. We will refer to him as the petitioner.

He was employed by the Graver Tank and Manufacturing Company herein referred to as Graver. Graver is a self insurer which means that it, rather than The Industrial Commission (prior to the 1968 amendments to the Workmen’s Compensation Act) or the State Compensation Fund (since the 1968 amendments became effective), has the obligation of paying both the accident benefits and the compensation which The Industrial Commission may award to the petitioner. Graver is the “person liable to pay the claim.” A.R.S. § 23-1023, subsec. C. This section was amended effective 23 April 1965. It was again amended in 1968 effective 1 January 1969. The above quoted language is carried forward in the two amendments. In this opinion our references to sections of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) will be to those sections ■ prior to the 1965 and the 1968 amendments unless expressly stated to the contrary, the industrial accL dent and the award having both- occurred in 1961.

Fluor Corporation, Ltd., herein referred to as Fluor, was “the third party,” and it was a defendant in the civil suit filed by the petitioner. Fluor paid to the petitioner the settlement now in issue.

THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND

There were two separate proceedings in the Superior Court for Pima County and the attorneys before this Court did not participate in any phase of either of the Superior Court matters. The record of one of these, the civil action, was not presented to The Industrial Commission and is not before this Court. It was summarized by present counsel in a hearing before The Industrial Commission of the jurisdictional issue. Under these circumstances our factual recitations as to the Superior Court civil action may not be completely accurate and in any future proceedings in relation to this industrial claim there is freedom to establish these matters with greater particularity. The other Superior Court matter was a combined mental health and guardianship proceeding. The record of the latter proceeding was before The Industrial Commission and is before the. Court. The record of the mental health-guardianship proceeding which we have before us appears to be reasonably complete up to the date of the order authorizing .the settlement of the civil action.

On 24 September 1961, while in the. course and scope of his employment- with. Graver, the petitioner sustained an industrial accident and injury. An award was entered bearing date of 20 October 1961. The title of this document is “Findings and Award for Temporary Disability.” Finding' No. 7 recites that the medical evidence reflects that the petitioner has no physical disability resulting from the accident. The award granted “accident benefits through October 11, 1961” and in addition thereto granted “the sum of $266.08, payable forthwith.” The latter sum was an award of compensation for temporary disability. The award contained a 20-day clause and no further action was taken within the 20-day period. The award became final subject to [590]*590the right to petition to reopen for new, additional or previously undiscovered disability. A.R.S. § 23 — 1061, subsec. C; Industrial Commission Rule 64; and Adkins v. Industrial Commission of Arizona, 95 Ariz. 239, 389 P.2d 118 (1964). That is, The Industrial Commission- retained the jurisdiction to consider a petition to -reopen unless the facts before us terminated that jurisdiction.

The Industrial Commission file before us does not contain a written election by the petitioner “to pursue his remedy against” a third party tort-feasor whose negligence or wrong was the proximate cause of his injury. A.R.S. § 23-1023, subsec. A.A.R.S. § 23-1024, subsec. A stated that an employee by accepting workmen’s compensation “waives the right to exercise any option to institute proceedings in court.” (Emphasis Supplied).

Nevertheless the petitioner, as plaintiff, filed a Superior Court civil action in Pima County on 17 April 1962. The action named Graver and Fluor as defendants. He sought recovery in the sum of $125,000. The Industrial Commission file discloses a memorandum prepared by the then Chief Counsel of the Commission, which memorandum is dated 27 April 1962. The memorandum affirmatively discloses that The Industrial Commission had knowledge of the civil suit, in fact it related to a request by' Flüor that The Industrial Commission dfefend the civil suit under Fluor’s Workmen’s Compensation policy. The Industrial Commission’s knowledge of the civil suit is' further confirmed by a letter in the file which was written by an Industrial Commission attorney on 13 July 1962. This letter advises Tucson counsel as to the industrial claim and award hereinbefore referred to.

A formal written judgment dismissing the civil action as to Graver was entered on 3 August 1964.

On 21 June 1965, the mental health proceeding was filed in relation to the petitioner. This proceeding reflects a serious mental problem. A guardian was appointed therein and that proceeding was carried forward as a guardianship matter. On 31 October 1966, the guardian was authorized to settle .the claim against Fluor for $10,-000 and the. civil action was dismissed. After the, judgment was entered which dismissed the action as to Graver, Graver did not participate in any phase of the civil action. Graver did not give its written approval to the compromise. So far as we are informed, Graver was not asked to consent to nor was it notified as to the pending settlement.

We are informed that both Graver and Fluor, in the civil action, urged the defense of the petitioner’s election to receive benefits under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. We are not informed that either Graver or Fluor sought extraordinary relief from the Arizona Supreme Court or from Division Two of the Court of Appeals to prohibit the petitioner from prosecuting his civil action. The record discloses that both Graver and The Industrial Commission had affirmative knowledge of the pendency of the civil action.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hendry v. Industrial Commission
532 P.2d 882 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1975)
Hornback v. Industrial Commission
474 P.2d 807 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
466 P.2d 806, 11 Ariz. App. 587, 1970 Ariz. App. LEXIS 556, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hornback-v-industrial-commission-arizctapp-1970.