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Bowlen v. Munford5/2/1996
In this workers' compensation case, petitioners, Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority (insurer) and its policyholder, Patrick D. Bowlen, d/b/a The Denver Broncos Football Club (employer), seek review of the final order of the Industrial Claim Appeals Office (Panel) requiring them to pay medical impairment benefits to Marc K. Munford (claimant). We affirm.
Claimant sustained several compensable injuries during the course of his employment as a professional football player for the Denver Broncos. From 1987 to 1990, claimant made five compensation claims.
Petitioners filed final admissions of liability denying medical impairment benefits with respect to four of claimant's claims. However, even though the employer knew claimant's home address, on its first reports of injury the employer each time provided to the insurer the address of its training facility as claimant's address, and the insurer each time mailed claimant's copies of the admissions to him at the training facility. Claimant never received them.
Several months later, after learning of the admissions, claimant requested a hearing on several issues, including medical impairment benefits. In response, petitioners argued that notice of the final admissions had been sufficient and, thus, claimant was precluded from seeking medical impairment benefits because he had not contested the admissions in writing within sixty days.
After a hearing, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found claimant's testimony that he never received the final admissions to be credible and persuasive, and observed: "Most likely, these Final Admissions of Liability were retained by other personnel at Employer's facility rather than delivered to Claimant." The ALJ therefore allowed claimant to challenge the final admissions and ordered petitioners to pay claimant medical impairment and other benefits.
The Panel affirmed. It concluded that, because the final admissions had not been mailed to claimant at his home address and had not been actually received, denying claimant the right to seek medical impairment benefits would violate his right to due process.
On appeal, no issue has been raised, and we do not address, whether as a procedural matter it is necessary to file a petition to reopen in order to challenge the sufficiency of notice of final admissions. The only issue presented is whether notice was sufficient to preclude claimant from seeking medical impairment benefits because the statutory time limitation for challenging the final admissions had expired.
Petitioners contend that, because mailing the final admissions to claimant at the employer's address was reasonably calculated to apprise him of the actions taken, claimant's right to due process was not violated. They argue that notice of the admissions was thus sufficient even if claimant did not receive the admissions and was not otherwise apprised of them. However, petitioners' argument incorrectly assumes that mailing the final admissions to claimant at the employer's address was authorized by the applicable statute and rule.
The statute concerning admissions of final liability, ยง 8-43- 203, C.R.S. (1995 Cum. Supp.), provides in pertinent part:
(1) The employer or, if insured, the employer's insurance carrier shall notify in writing the division and the injured employee . . . within twenty days after notice or knowledge of an injury to an employee which disables said employee for more than three shifts or three calendar days or results in permanent physical impairment or death of said employee, whether liability is admitted or contested . . . .
(2) . . . An admission of liability for final
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