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In re Appeal of Weaver11/14/2003
Compensation Appeals Board
Argued: October 8, 2003
The petitioner, Stephen V. Weaver, appeals the decision of the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (board) denying him benefits for an in-state injury because he had already received benefits under Maine's workers' compensation statutes. We reverse and remand.
The respondent, Land Rover of Scarborough, a Maine corporation, hired Weaver to work at a new car dealership it was constructing in Bedford, New Hampshire. Throughout his entire employment, Weaver worked exclusively at the Bedford dealership.
On December 28, 2000, Weaver injured his left knee while working at the construction site. Weaver immediately reported his injury to Land Rover, which reported the incident to its workers' compensation carrier. In August 2001, Weaver missed work to undergo knee surgery relating to his December injury. As a result of his absence, Land Rover filed a first report with the Maine Workers' Compensation Board and Weaver began receiving benefits under the Maine Workers' Compensation Act. Weaver was not notified of the report until October 3, 2001. Upon notification, Weaver informed Land Rover's workers' compensation carrier and the Maine Workers' Compensation Board that Land Rover had erroneously filed the claim in Maine. On December 7, 2001, Weaver was terminated for cause and his weekly benefits were discontinued, which Maine law allowed.
Weaver requested a hearing with the New Hampshire Department of Labor to review his claim. After the hearing officer concluded that New Hampshire had no jurisdiction to rule upon his compensation eligibility, Weaver appealed to the board. The board dismissed the appeal, ruling that although RSA 281-A:12 (1999) applies only to injuries incurred outside New Hampshire, the legislative intent of the statute precludes Weaver's claim. This appeal followed.
Weaver contends that RSA 281-A:12, entitled "Injuries Outside of the State," does not apply to injuries occurring within New Hampshire. Land Rover, on the other hand, argues that RSA 281-A:12, II, by its plain and unambiguous language, does not permit workers' compensation recovery where the injured party has received some benefits from another jurisdiction for the same injury. We agree with Weaver.
We will not set aside the board's decision, except for errors of law, unless Weaver has shown it by a clear preponderance of the evidence to be unjust or unreasonable. Appeal of Bergeron, 144 N.H. 681, 683 (2000); see RSA 541:13 (1997).
We are the final arbiter of the legislature's intent as expressed in the words of the statute considered as a whole. In the Matter of Breault & Breault, 149 N.H. 359, 361 (2003). We first examine the language of the statute, and where possible, ascribe the plain and ordinary meanings to the words used. Id. When a statute's language is plain and unambiguous, we need not examine its legislative history, and we refuse to consider what the legislature might have said or add language that the legislature did not see fit to incorporate in the statute. Id. Furthermore, we interpret statutes in the context of the overall statutory scheme and not in isolation. Id.
RSA 281-A:12, entitled "Injuries Outside the State," provides:
I. If an employee is injured while employed elsewhere than in this state, and is injured under circumstances that would have entitled the employee or a dependent to workers' compensation under this chapter had such employee been injured in this state, then such employee or dependents of such employee shall be entitled to workers' compensation as provided in this chapter:
(a) If the employee or the
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