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Sell v. Mitchell Corp. of Owosso8/18/2000
FOR PUBLICATION
May 19, 2000 9:10 a.m.
Updated Copy
Plaintiff appeals by leave granted the June 9, 1998, order of the Worker's Compensation Appellate Commission (WCAC) that affirmed the February 5, 1996, and October 7, 1997, decisions of the magistrate to deny continuing wage-loss benefits for plaintiff. We ordered this case held in abeyance pending our Supreme Court's review of our decision in McJunkin v Cellasto Plastic Corp, 226 Mich App 234; 573 NW2d 72 (1997). The Supreme Court issued its decision in McJunkin on March 29, 2000. 461 Mich 590; 608 NW2d 57 (2000). We reverse and remand for further findings of fact.
I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
The history of this worker's compensation case is lengthy and tangled, and obfuscates even such basic matters as what issues are and are not before this Court. Plaintiff worked at defendant's Wright Street plant in Cadillac. In 1982, plaintiff suffered a partial disability of the bilateral upper extremities caused by her employment as a sewer of automobile seatcovers and aggravated by favored work as a housekeeper. This Court has already related the details of plaintiff's injury in its previous decision on this case, Sell v Mitchell Corp (On Remand), 198 Mich App 683, 689; 499 NW2d 413 (1993) (Sell I.) Defendant does not now dispute the nature or severity of plaintiff's injuries. However, defendant disputes plaintiff's entitlement to continuing wage loss benefits because she refused to accept an offer of light-duty work at the Wright Street plant that was within her physical capabilities until after the Wright Street plant was closed and the position ceased to be available. We held this case in abeyance pending our Supreme Court's review of this issue in McJunkin, supra. The Supreme Court held that when an employee ends a period of refusal of reasonable employment, the employee becomes eligible for wage-loss benefits if the employer has withdrawn the offer of reasonable employment or the position is no longer available.
Unfortunately, our task is not a simple matter of applying the Supreme Court's decision in McJunkin to the facts here. The issue is complicated by another set of proceedings that arose from plaintiff's injury and disability. In addition to her efforts to obtain wage-loss benefits despite her refusal of the light-duty position, plaintiff has also been involved in protracted proceedings to obtain vocational rehabilitation benefits. This other chain of proceedings relates to plaintiff's decision in 1984 to quit the light-duty position after a short period and attend community college classes to retrain herself as a child-care provider. With regard to the vocational rehabilitation benefits, this Court ultimately decided that plaintiff could be eligible for such benefits, and remanded to the WCAC for further findings of fact. The WCAC found in plaintiff's favor, and defendant has not appealed that decision. It is therefore res judicata that plaintiff was entitled to vocational rehabilitation benefits, and there are no issues before this Court relating to that entitlement. However, we must, of necessity, consider if plaintiff's eligibility for vocational rehabilitation in any way affects plaintiff's eligibility for wage-loss benefits. We therefore review the lengthy history of this case.
Plaintiff's Disability and Light-Duty Work
These proceedings began in 1984 when plaintiff first sought disability benefits from defendant. However, defendant offered plaintiff a "favored work" position of light-duty work within her physical capabilities as an attendant in the Wright Street plant first aid room. The work involved counting small parts for inventory purposes. Plain
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