| FINAL AWARD DENYING COMPENSATION (Reversing Award and Decision of Administrative Law Judge) |
| Employee: | Jeremy Reynolds |
| Employer: | Fulton State Hospital (Settled) |
| Insurer: | C A R O (Settled) |
| Additional Party: | Treasurer of Missouri as Custodian of Second Injury Fund |
| This workers' compensation case is submitted to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (Commission) for review as provided by § 287.480 RSMo. We have reviewed the evidence, read the parties’briefs, and considered the whole record. Pursuant to § 286.090 RSMo, the Commission reverses the award and decision of the administrative law judge. |
| Introduction |
| The parties asked the administrative law judge to resolve the following issues: (1) statute of limitations; (2) permanent partial disability; and (3) liability of the Second Injury Fund.The administrative law judge determined as follows: (1) employee timely filed his claim against the Second Injury Fund, and it is not barred by the statute of limitations; (2) employee suffered a permanent partial disability of 10% of the body as a whole referable to the groin; and (3) the Second Injury Fund is liable for 12.29 weeks of enhanced permanent partial disability.The Second Injury Fund filed a timely application for review with the Commission alleging the administrative law judge erred in finding that employee timely filed his claim against the Second Injury Fund. The Commission granted a stay of review in this matter pending the court’s issuance of a decision in the case ofTreasurer of Missouri-Custodian of the 2nd Injury Fund v. Couch, 478 S.W.3d 417 (Mo. App. 2015). |
| On January 26, 2016, the Second Injury Fund filed a “Motion to Reverse Judgment,” arguing that theCouch decision was dispositive and requesting that the Commission reverse the administrative law judge’s award, or alternatively, reinstate the briefing schedule.On March 14, 2016, the parties filed a “Joint Motion to Vacate,” acknowledging the decision inCouch, agreeing that it is dispositive of the sole issue on appeal in this case, and requesting that the Commission vacate the administrative law judge’s award.For the reasons set forth below, we reverse the award and decision of the administrative law judge. |
| Discussion |
| Statute of limitations |
| Section 287.430 RSMo provides, in relevant part, as follows: |
| A claim against the second injury fund shall be filed within two years after the date of the injury or within one year after a claim is filed against an employer or insurer pursuant to this chapter, whichever is later. |
The Missouri courts have recently clarified that the "claim" referenced in the foregoing language cannot be deemed to refer to the approval of a stipulation for compromise settlement where the employee has previously filed one or more claims for compensation for the injury. Treasurer of Missouri-Custodian of the 2nd Injury Fund v. Couch, 478 S.W.3d 417 (Mo. App. 2015).
The Couch court distinguished prior decisions in Grubbs v. Treasurer of Mo. As Custodian of the Second Injury Fund, 298 S.W.3d 907 (Mo. App. 2009), Treasurer of the State - Custodian of the Second Injury Fund v. Cook, 323 S.W.3d 105 (Mo. App. 2010), and Elrod v. Treasurer of Mo., 138 S.W.3d 714 (Mo. 2004), and held that where an employee had previously filed a July 12, 2011, claim for compensation for a June 22, 2011, work injury, her March 28, 2013, settlement with employer could not be considered the relevant "claim" for purposes of $\S 287.430$, and that the employee's filing of a subsequent November 27, 2013, claim for compensation against the Second Injury Fund was therefore untimely.
The facts of this case are comparable to those at issue in Couch. Here, employee filed a claim for compensation against the employer and Second Injury Fund on October 27, 2011, for a work injury he sustained on October 9, 2011. On August 2, 2013, employee settled his claim against the employer. On August 16, 2013, employee voluntarily dismissed his claim against the Second Injury Fund. On July 30, 2014, employee re-filed a claim against the Second Injury Fund.
Pursuant to the holding in Couch, we conclude that employee's claim for compensation is untimely, because it was not filed within two years after the date of injury or one year after filing of the claim for compensation against employer. For this reason, we deny the claim. All other issues are moot.