Shassetz v. STATE EX REL., WORKERS'COMP.

920 P.2d 1246
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 31, 1996
Docket95-256
StatusPublished

This text of 920 P.2d 1246 (Shassetz v. STATE EX REL., WORKERS'COMP.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shassetz v. STATE EX REL., WORKERS'COMP., 920 P.2d 1246 (Wyo. 1996).

Opinion

920 P.2d 1246 (1996)

Andrew G. SHASSETZ, Appellant (Petitioner),
v.
STATE of Wyoming, ex rel. WYOMING WORKERS' SAFETY AND COMPENSATION DIVISION, Appellee (Respondent).

No. 95-256.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

July 31, 1996.

George Santini, Cheyenne, for Appellant.

William U. Hill, Wyoming Attorney General; John W. Renneisen, Deputy Attorney General; Gerald W. Laska, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Jennifer A. Evans, Assistant *1247 Attorney General, Cheyenne, for Appellee.

Before THOMAS, MACY, TAYLOR and LEHMAN, JJ., and HARTMAN, District Judge.

THOMAS, Justice.

The issue before the court is one of substantial evidence to demonstrate the continuation of a worker's temporary total disability. After sustaining an injury while working as a carpenter, Andrew G. Shassetz (Shassetz) filed for worker's compensation benefits and was granted medical and total temporary disability benefits. At a second contested case hearing following a dispute over compensability of Shassetz' injury, evidence developed that Shassetz had training and experience as a computer operator, and his injury would not prevent him from being employed as a computer operator. An order then was entered by the Office of Administrative Hearings terminating the temporary total disability benefits after March 31, 1995, in accordance with WYO. STAT. § 27-14-404(c)(i) (1991). Shassetz sought judicial review. The district court certified the case to this court, and we discern sufficient evidence to support the order of the Office of Administrative Hearings. That order is affirmed.

In the Brief of Appellant Andrew G. Shassetz, the issue is stated as:

Was the decision of the Office of Administrative Hearings to deny temporary total disability benefits prior to Appellant's reaching maximum medical improvement supported by substantial evidence?

In the Brief of Appellee, filed for the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division (Division), the issue is stated in this way:

Whether the Office of Administrative Hearings order denying temporary total disability benefits is supported by substantial evidence.

Shassetz suffered an injury to his right knee on September 16, 1994 while he was working as a carpenter for Reiman Corporation. The following day, he reported the injury to his employer, but treated himself instead of seeking medical care. He eventually sought treatment from a physician and pursued a claim under the Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act. Reiman Corporation and the Division disputed the compensability of Shassetz' injury. On January 13, 1995, a contested case hearing was held before the Office of Administrative Hearings. On January 31, 1995, the Office of Administrative Hearings entered an order ruling Shassetz had sustained a compensable injury and awarding medical and temporary total disability benefits.

A dispute then arose about compensability of Shassetz' injury after March 31, 1995. The Division issued a final determination denying further benefits as of March 31, 1995, after concluding the injury was not work related. A second contested case hearing followed, and an osteopathic physician specializing in occupational medicine reported for the Division that, in his opinion, the primary source of the pain Shassetz experienced was due to a preexisting arthritic condition and, further, the preexisting arthritic condition had necessitated his knee surgery in November 1994. Shassetz' treating physician testified by deposition that, in his opinion, the more likely cause of the problem was the September 16, 1994 injury. Testimony was elicited, from Shassetz, that he had prior experience and training as a computer operator and, from his treating physician, that Shassetz could have worked as a computer operator. The product of the second hearing was an order from the Office of Administrative Hearings ruling Shassetz had suffered a compensable injury. The order stated that the question of whether Shassetz' ability to work as a computer operator prevented him from receiving temporary total disability benefits should have been raised at the first hearing, and the first hearing should be conclusive under the doctrine of res judicata or collateral estoppel. The Office of Administrative Hearings ruled, however, since Shassetz had failed to object, the issue could be considered. Relying upon WYO. STAT. § 27-14-404(c)(i), the Office of Administrative Hearings ruled the statute provides for termination of payment for temporary disability in certain circumstances and, in this case, it *1248 precluded the award of temporary total disability benefits after March 31, 1995.

The statute upon which the Office of Administrative Hearings relies provides, in pertinent part, with respect to the award of temporary total disability benefits:

(a) If after a compensable injury is sustained and as a result of the injury the employee is subject to temporary total disability as defined under W.S. XX-XX-XXX(a)(xviii), the injured employee is entitled to receive a temporary total disability award for the period of temporary total disability as provided by W.S. XX-XX-XXX(c).
* * *
(c) Payment under subsection (a) of this section shall cease if:
(i) Recovery is complete to the extent that the earning power of the employee at a gainful occupation for which he is reasonably suited by experience or training is substantially restored; or
(ii) The employee has an ascertainable loss and qualifies for benefits under W.S. XX-XX-XXX [permanent partial disability] or XX-XX-XXX [permanent total disability].

WYO. STAT. § 27-14-404 (1991) (emphasis added).

The definition of temporary total disability is found in WYO. STAT. § 27-14-102(a)(xviii) (1991):

"Temporary total disability" means that period of time an employee is temporarily and totally incapacitated from performing employment at any gainful employment or occupation for which he is reasonably suited by experience or training. The period of temporary total disability terminates at the time the employee completely recovers or qualifies for benefits under W.S. XX-XX-XXX [permanent partial disability] or XX-XX-XXX [permanent total disability] * * *. (Emphasis added.)

Judicial review of a decision of the Office of Administrative Hearings is provided in WYO. STAT. § 27-14-602(b) (Supp. 1995), and that statute specifies the review will be governed by the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, WYO. STAT. §§ 16-3-101 to -115 (1990 as amended). The scope of judicial review, pursuant to both the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and WYO. R. APP. P. 12.09, permits the court to:

(ii) Hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings and conclusions found to be:
(A) Arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law;
* * *
(E) Unsupported by substantial evidence in a case reviewed on the record of an agency hearing provided by statute.

WYO. STAT. § 16-3-114(c)(ii) (1990).

"Cases certified to this court pursuant [sic] W.R.A.P. 12.09 are reviewed according to the appellate standards applicable to the court of the first instance." Union Tel. Co., Inc. v. Wyoming Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 907 P.2d 340

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920 P.2d 1246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shassetz-v-state-ex-rel-workerscomp-wyo-1996.