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DRAKE v. INDUSTRIAL COM'N OF UTAH5/13/1997
hen concluded from the facts of the case that Drake's accident did occur while she was still on a special errand. The court relied upon the following facts: (1) Drake "undertook the delivery of referrals between Ogden and Salt Lake City at the request of FHP solely to remedy a problem with FHP's shuttle system"; (2) these deliveries often required Drake to work beyond her regularly scheduled hours; (3) the deliveries required Drake to "make a five-to six-mile detour from her normal route home"; and (4) "FHP . . . benefitted by having a referral system that operated in a timely manner." Drake, 904 P.2d at 206-07. The court found insubstantial the fact that Drake had been delivering these referrals regularly two or three times a week for several months before her accident. Id. at 207. It specifically stated that whether the deliveries were part of Drake's regular job duties was "a conclusion of law" and found that the special errand exception "does not require [one-time occurrences] in order for the injured employee to recover." Id.
On certiorari, FHP does not argue that the court of appeals failed to apply the correct legal principles, but contends that it applied the wrong standard of review when it reviewed the Commission's determination that Drake's delivery was not special but was part
of her normal job duties. The Commission argues that this determination is a finding of fact and thus the court of appeals erred in applying a "correction of error" standard applicable to questions of law rather than "the absence of substantial evidence" standard employed for the review of questions of fact. Moreover, because Drake did not challenge any of the Commission's findings of fact, FHP argues that the court of appeals was required to accept the Commission's finding that the deliveries were part of Drake's normal job duties as conclusive and erred when it reviewed it de novo.
Essential to any determination of the appropriate standard of review for an issue on appeal is the characterization of that issue as either a question of fact, a question of law, or a mixed question requiring application of the law to the facts. Where the issue is purely factual, appellate review is highly deferential, requiring reversal only if a finding is clearly erroneous. See State v. Thurman, 911 P.2d 371, 372 (Utah 1996). When reviewing the factual findings made by an administrative agency, an appellate court will generally reverse only if the findings are not supported by substantial evidence. See Olsen v. Industrial Comm'n, 797 P.2d 1098, 1099 (Utah 1990); Helf v. Industrial Comm'n, 901 P.2d 1024, 1026 (Utah.Ct.App. 1995); see also Utah Code Ann. ยง 63-46b-16(4)(g). We give deference to the initial decision maker on questions of fact because it stands in a superior position from which to evaluate and weigh the evidence and assess the credibility and accuracy of witnesses' recollections. See State v. Pena, 869 P.2d 932, 936 (Utah 1994). Where the issue is a question of law, however, appellate review gives no deference to the trial judge's or agency's determination, because the appellate court has "the power and duty to say what the law is and to ensure that it is uniform throughout the jurisdiction." Id. (citation omitted). The reviewing court therefore applies a "correctness" standard, deciding the matter for itself. Id. However, not all issues fall clearly at one end of the spectrum or the other. Some issues involve mixed questions of "whether a given set of facts comes within the reach of a given rule of law." Id. Although we review the underlying empirical facts under a deferential clear error standard, we have recently stated that the legal effect of those facts "is the province of the appellate courts, and no defe
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