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Merchant v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board9/1/2000
ens of Pennsylvania.
We decline to hold that Section 322 precludes Claimant's claim petition in its entirety simply because he applied for and received workers' compensation benefits under the laws of West Virginia. That construction would be contrary to the plain language of Section 322 and the humanitarian goals of the Act.
To reiterate, the applicable phrase of Section 322 provides that it shall be unlawful for any employee to receive compensation under the Act if he is at the same time receiving workers' compensation under the laws of any other state for the same injury. Clearly, the legislature in that portion of the Act was concerned with the simultaneous receipt of benefits for the same injury. In layman's terms, the legislature prohibited "double dipping." What the legislature did not prohibit was an employee receiving benefits under the Act for the same injury, subsequent
to his receipt of benefits from another state for the same injury. If the legislature had chosen to insert such a provision, it certainly could have done so. See Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Berryman, 649 A.2d 961 (Pa. Super. 1972).
II.
Also with regard to Section 322, TSL argues that the Board's decision that Claimant only received West Virginia benefits until September 8, 1995 is not supported by substantial evidence. TSL notes that it submitted additional exhibits that purportedly demonstrate that Claimant received West Virginia wage loss and medical benefits subsequent to September 8, 1995. (May 22, 1997 Hearing, TSL Exhibits Nos. 6 and 7.) We note that TSL Exhibit No. 6 is a printout from West Virginia's Workers' Compensation Division purporting to show benefits that have been paid on a year-to-date basis since the injury. Exhibit No. 7 is a printout from West Virginia's Workers' Compensation Fund Medical Cost Containment System purporting to show the payment of medical bills.
Further, TSL points out that Claimant in his brief acknowledges that he received West Virginia benefits after September 8, 1995. Therefore, TSL requests that we clarify the Board's order to specifically state that Claimant is not entitled to receive any Pennsylvania benefits during any period of time that he has received benefits under West Virginia law.
We note that the WCJ found that "Claimant's West Virginia compensation through TSL was paid from August 16, through September 8, 1995, and then stopped for reasons he does not know." (WCJ's Finding of Fact No. 10.) Having reviewed TSL's Exhibits Nos. 6 and 7, however, we agree with TSL that it is not clear that Claimant stopped receiving workers' compensation benefits from West Virginia after September 8, 1995. Thus, we must remand this matter to the Board to remand to the WCJ for a determination as to when Claimant finally stopped receiving workers' compensation benefits under West Virginia law. If the WCJ is unable to make a determination from those two exhibits, we direct him to take evidence on that narrow issue. Once a date is determined, we direct that an order be issued providing that Claimant shall receive benefits in Pennsylvania subsequent to that date. We turn now to Claimant's issue, whether the Board erred in determining that Dr. Walczak's testimony regarding the cause of the diabetes insipidus was equivocal.
III.
The claimant in a claim petition proceeding bears the burden of establishing the right to compensation and all elements necessary to support an award. Inglis House v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board (Reedy), 535 Pa. 135, 634 A.2d 592 (1993). As the burdened party, the claimant has both the burdens of production and persuasion. Crenshaw v. Workmen's Compensation App
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