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Erhart v. Flint Engineering & Const.5/19/1997
The debate in this case is whether a claimant, who was denied worker's compensation benefits and failed to appeal the adverse decision in the manner provided in the Rules for Contested Case Practice and Procedure Before the Office of Administrative Hearings, can reopen his case under Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-605(a) (1991) or W.R.C.P. 60(b). Michael A. Erhart (Erhart) filed a claim in Wyoming for worker's compensation benefits for a work-related injury. The hearing examiner ultimately determined Erhart's injury occurred in Colorado in August of 1992, and denied benefits. Erhart also filed a claim for worker's compensation benefits for his work-related injury in Colorado. The Colorado hearing examiner ultimately determined Erhart failed to prove that his back condition was the natural and proximate result of the injury in August of 1992, and also denied benefits. Erhart then filed a Motion to Re-Open Workers' Compensation Claim with Wyoming's Office of Administrative Hearings. This motion was denied. The appeal to the district court resulted in an order affirming the denial. We reverse and remand for a determination by the Office of Administrative Hearings as to whether Erhart sustained a work-related injury in Wyoming while an employee of Flint Engineering & Construction (Flint).
I. ISSUES
Erhart states the issue as follows:
1. Is Mr. Erhart entitled to re-open his workers' compensation claim pursuant to W.S. § 27-14-605 or W.R.C.P., Rule 60?
Flint sets forth these issues:
A. Under State ex rel., Worker's Compensation Division v. Jerding, 868 P.2d 244 (Wyo. 1994), Rule 60(b), W.R.C.P., is not available to a Wyoming worker's compensation claimant to "reopen" or obtain relief from a final order which denied benefits.
B. A Wyoming worker's compensation claimant is not entitled to "reopen" his claim under W.S. § 27-14-605(a) (1977 Repub. Ed.) when there has been no determination in favor of or in behalf of the employee for any benefits under the Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act.
C.W.S. § 27-14-605(a) (1977 Repub. Ed.) does not violate equal protection under the Wyoming Constitution or Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Finally, State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division (Division) states three issues:
A. Whether Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-605 applies only when an injured employee has been awarded workers' compensation benefits and whether it provides the exclusive means for modification of an administrative determination of a claim for workers' compensation benefits.
B. If Rule 60(b) of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure does apply to workers' compensation administrative determinations, whether Rule 60(b) will afford relief upon the ground that the moving party's expert witness provided inconsistent testimony in separate administrative hearings.
C. Whether Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-605, if it permits a modification of an administrative determination only when workers' compensation benefits have been awarded, violates an unsuccessful claimant's constitutional right to equal protection of the laws.
II. FACTS
In August of 1992, Erhart, an employee of Flint, injured his back while carrying oil field apparatus near Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. He did not consult a physician, report the injury to Flint or file a worker's compensation claim in Colorado for that injury. On July 1, 1993, while moving a three-inch pipe at a field south of Meeteetse, Wyoming, Erhart sustained an injury when the pipe fell on him. He experienced some tingling sensation during that day. Over the holiday weekend, Erhart experienced a severe
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