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Sharitt v. American Airlines6/11/1998
COURT OF APPEALS OF OKLAHOMA, DIVISION NO. 3
Opinion Services
SHARITT v. AMERICAN AIRLINES
___ P.2d ___
Decided: February 24, 1998
PROCEEDING TO REVIEW AN ORDER OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION COURT
HONORABLE KENTON FULTON , JUDGE
VACATED AND REMANDED
Petitioner, Charles Sharitt (Claimant), seeks review of a Workers' Compensation Court order awarding him benefits against Respondent, American Airlines (Employer). Claimant asserts error of the court in calculating his benefits.
As his sole allegation of error, Claimant contends the Workers' Compensation Court erred, as a matter of law, in calculating the number of weeks of compensation for which Employer was liable. The facts are not in controversy, nor are the court's findings as to the rate of compensation or various percentages of disability attributed to his left and right hand injuries. The controversy involves the court's application of the relevant statute to those facts and findings.
In its order, the court, among other things, found Claimant had on April 9, 1997, sustained compensable accidental personal injuries due to cumulative trauma to his right and left hands, and sustained 20 % permanent partial disability to his right hand, and 15% permanent partial disability to his left hand, by reason of the injuries on April 9, 1997. The court, without specifying how the period was determined, ordered Employer to pay compensation to Claimant for a period of 62.8 weeks. Claimant seeks review of that order.
Specifically, Claimant contends the Workers' Compensation Court erred in applying 85 O.S. Supp. 1997 Sections 22 (3)(b) separately to each hand when the impairment to both arose out of the same injury producing accident. Section 22(3)(b), which prescribes the amount of compensation to be paid a disabled worker, provides:
(b) With respect to injuries occurring after November 4,1994, in case of disability, partial in character but permanent in quality, the compensation shall be seventy percent (70%) of the employee's average weekly wages, and shall be paid to the employee for the period prescribed by the following schedule:
(1) For each percent of the first nine percent (9%) of disability, eighty percent (80%) of the number of weeks of compensation provided by law prior to November 4, 1994;
(2) For each percent of the next eleven percent (11%) of disability, the identical number of weeks of compensation provided by law prior to November 4,1994;
(3) For each percent of the next thirty percent (30%) of disability, one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the number of weeks of compensation provided by law prior to November 4, 1994; and
(4) For each remaining percent of disability, the identical number of weeks of compensation provided by law prior to November 4, 1994.
While the record does not express how the court calculated the number of weeks for which Employer would be liable, it seems apparent, and Employer does not argue otherwise, the court did apply Section 22(3)(b)(1) separately to each of the adjudicated hand injuries. That is, for the first 9% of each of the two disability ratings, the number of weeks of compensation was limited to 80% of that provided by law prior to November 4, 1994. This formulation results in 62.8 weeks as ordered by the court.
Claimant asserts the proper method of calculating the number of weeks of compensation under Section 22(3)(b) is to use the total percentage of disability arising from the same accident. In this case the total from the injuries to Claimant's hands wo
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