Grenz v. Fire & Casualty Of Connecticut2/14/2001
APPEAL FROM: Workers' Compensation Court, State of Montana
The Honorable Mike McCarter, Judge presiding.
Submitted on Briefs: November 9, 2000
Justice Jim Regnier
Samuel J. Grenz appeals pro se from the order granting summary judgment in favor of Fire & Casualty of Connecticut ("F&C;) issued by the Workers' Compensation Court. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
The following facts are taken from our previous decisions in the "seemingly endless stream of litigation that has resulted in multiple appeals to this Court and innumerable proceedings in the Workers' Compensation Court." Grenz v. Fire and Casualty of Connecticut (1993), 260 Mont. 60, 61, 857 P.2d 730, 731 ("Grenz III" ). We need not address each of Grenz's prior claims for the purposes of this opinion.
On August 22, 1984, Grenz injured his right elbow while working on a steel railing for his employer, American Stud Company. Within a week of his injury Grenz filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits and sought treatment from Dr. Ken McFadden. American Stud's insurer, F&C; accepted liability for the right elbow injury and paid compensation and medical benefits. On December 31, 1984, and again on January 29, 1985, Grenz consulted his treating physician, Dr. Ronald A. Miller, concerning his discomfort in both elbows, wrists, hands, and his cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. Dr. Miller diagnosed Grenz with degenerative arthritis of his fingers, wrists, and shoulders, and recurrent bursitis and epicondylitis of his elbows. On November 18, 1985, Dr. Miller provided Grenz with a note for his employer which recommended that Grenz refrain from lifting or other physical activity. Grenz did not work after November 18, 1985.
In 1991 we determined that Grenz's psychological problems and his degenerative condition were not causally related to his 1984 elbow injury. Grenz v. Fire and Cas. of Connecticut (1991), 250 Mont. 373, 380, 820 P.2d 742, 746 ("Grenz I"). Grenz also argued that his degenerative arthritis was caused by a series of "microtraumas" associated with the heavy lifting, jarring, and vibrations of the machinery at his employment; these microtraumas, he asserted, were suffered subsequent to and separately from his 1984 elbow injury. We refused to consider this argument as Grenz had not raised in it the Workers' Compensation Court.
Following Grenz I, Grenz filed a new claim for workers' compensation benefits, asserting that his arthritis was caused by microtraumas separate and apart from, and subsequent to, the 1984 elbow injury. F&C;moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that Grenz's claim was barred by res judicata or, alternatively, by the one-year statute of limitations of the Workers' Compensation Act. The Workers' Compensation Court granted F&C;s motion on the basis of res judicata. Grenz appealed.
In Grenz v. Fire and Casualty of Connecticut (1992), 255 Mont. 121, 124, 841 P.2d 494, 496 ("Grenz II"), we reversed the Workers' Compensation Court's determination that his microtrauma claim was barred by res judicata and remanded. On remand, the hearing examiner determined that Grenz had not filed his new claim within one year after he had stopped working for American Stud in 1985 and, therefore, he had not complied with ยง 39-71-601, MCA (1983). The Workers' Compensation Court adopted the hearing examiner's order on April 21, 1993. Grenz appealed.
In Grenz III, we affirmed the dismissal of Grenz's claim, holding that Grenz did not inform American Stud that he was suffering from arthritis caused by microtrauma injuries separate and distinct from his elbow injury within the statutory 12
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