Torres v. Plastech Corp.

1997 NMSC 053, 947 P.2d 154, 124 N.M. 197
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 1, 1997
Docket23734
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 1997 NMSC 053 (Torres v. Plastech Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Torres v. Plastech Corp., 1997 NMSC 053, 947 P.2d 154, 124 N.M. 197 (N.M. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION

MINZNER, Justice.

(1) Susie Torres appeals from the Court of Appeals’ affirmance of an order by the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) dismissing her claim for worker compensation benefits, based on the statute of limitations. The Court of Appeals concluded that substantial evidence existed to support the WCJ’s determination that Torres knew or should have known of a compensable injury in 1991. As a result, because Torres did not file her claim for compensation until 1995, the Court of Appeals affirmed the conclusion that Torres’s claim was barred by the statute of limitations. Torres contends that the running of the statute of limitations does not commence until a worker is entitled to benefits. Torres asserts that she was not entitled to benefits until 1994 and that the statute of limitations did not begin to ran until that time. Because the WCJ did not determine a date of initial disability or scheduled injury, we conclude that there was not substantial evidence to support the ruling on the statute of limitations. Therefore, we reverse the order dismissing the claim, and we remand for further proceedings on the merits of the claim.

I.

(2) Susie Torres became a full-time employee of Plastech Corporation in August 1989. Her duties included the inspection of lightweight objects produced by Plastech, such as VCR buttons, television cabinets, frames, and jack panels. This inspection process required rapid hand manipulation.

(3) In July 1991, Torres began experiencing pain and swelling in both wrists. As a result of this condition, Torres dropped objects, experienced numbness, and had difficulty sleeping due to the pain. She consulted a physician about this problem in November 1991, and discovered her condition could be carpal tunnel syndrome. She also learned that the problem could be work-related. She reported this information to her supervisor shortly after her consultation with the physician, but she did not demand compensation at that time.

(4) Torres’s condition progressively worsened, and in February 1993, a specialist advised her that she would need surgery to correct the problem. Nonetheless, Torres continued performing her regular duties at work without assistance until October 28, 1994, at which time she could no longer perform any of her regular duties. Between 1991 and October 1994, Torres neither demanded nor received disability benefits, either temporary or permanent, for carpal tunnel syndrome.

II.

(5) Torres filed a claim for disability benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act on March 28,1995. The WCJ found that Torres “knew or should have known she had a compensable claim in November of 1991” and, therefore, the claim was barred by the statute of limitations. The Court of Appeals affirmed the WCJ’s order in a memorandum opinion. Torres v. Plastech Corp., NMCA 17,246, slip, op., ¶ 1 (June 4, 1996). The Court of Appeals determined that the evidence supported an inference that Torres’s pain was a symptom of an impairment. Id. ¶2. Because Torres knew of this pain in 1991, there was substantial evidence to support the WCJ’s conclusion on the statute of limitations. Id. (citing ABF Freight Sys. v. Montano, 99 N.M. 259, 260, 657 P.2d 115, 116 (1982)). In addition, the Court of Appeals relied on ABF Freight System in rejecting Torres’s contention that there must be a demand on the employer by the worker in order to trigger the statute of limitations. Id. ¶ 4.

(6) We agree with the Court of Appeals that a demand for payment is not a prerequisite for triggering the statute of limitations and that an employer’s failure to pay compensation owed is a proper alternative to a demand for payment. See ABF Freight Sys., 99 N.M. at 260, 657 P.2d at 116. However, because the WCJ specifically refrained from deciding issues of disability, there was no determination of the date on which Torres was entitled to compensation. Because we conclude that the status of disability or the existence of a scheduled injury is a necessary element required to trigger the statute of limitations, we must reverse the order of the WCJ as well as the affirmance by the Court of Appeals.

III.

(7)This case requires us to revisit the statute of limitations contained in the Workers’ Compensation Act. That statute of limitations provides:

If an employer or his insurer fails or refuses to pay a worker any installment of compensation to which the' worker is entitled under the Workers’ Compensation Act ... after notice has been given as required by Section 52-1-29 NMSA 1978, it is the duty of the worker insisting on the payment of compensation to file a claim therefor as provided in the Workers’ Compensation Act not later than one year after the failure or refusal of the employer or insurer to pay compensation. This one-year period of limitations shall be tolled during the time a worker remains employed by the employer by whom he was employed at the time of such accidental injury, not to exceed a period of one year. If the worker fails to give notice in the manner and within the time required by Section 52-1-29 NMSA 1978 or if the worker fails to file a claim for compensation within the time required by this section, his claim for compensation, all his right to the recovery of compensation and the bringing of any proceeding for the recovery of compensation are forever barred.

NMSA 1978, § 52-1-3KA) (1987). An employer shall begin to pay compensation “not later than thirty-one days after the date of the occurrence of the disability” and is not deemed to have failed or refused to pay compensation until the expiration of this time period. NMSA 1978, § 52-1-30 (1987, prior to 1993 amendment). Thus, the' deadline by which a worker must file a claim ranges between one year and thirty-one days and two years and thirty-one days from the date of the occurrence of the disability, depending on the amount of time of continued employment with the defending employer. Sections 52-1-30, -31. 1

(8) We must determine whether substantial evidence supports the WCJ’s finding that the statute of limitations bars Torres’s claim. ABF Freight Sys., 99 N.M. at 261, 657 P.2d at 117. “Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Pucci Distrib. Co. v. Nellos, 110 N.M. 374, 376, 796 P.2d 595, 597 (1990). To determine whether substantial evidence exists for a trial court’s finding, we indulge all reasonable inferences in favor of the finding. Nellos, 110 N.M. at 376, 796 P.2d at 597.

(9) In ABF Freight System, we concluded that a demand for payment by the worker is not necessary to commence the period of limitations. 99 N.M. at 260, 657 P.2d at 116. This holding is consistent with the Legislature’s disjunctive reference to an employer’s “failure or refusal” to pay compensation. Section 52-l-31(A). An employer’s “failure” to pay is a passive act which does not require any inducement other than a worker’s entitlement to compensation. Thus, we agree with the Court of Appeals that the statute of limitations begins to run despite a lack of demand for payment by the worker.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1997 NMSC 053, 947 P.2d 154, 124 N.M. 197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/torres-v-plastech-corp-nm-1997.