Title: State ex rel. Carroll v. Galion Assisted Living, Ltd.

State: ohio

Issuer: Ohio Supreme Court

Document:

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State 
ex rel. Carroll v. Galion Assisted Living, Ltd., Slip Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-8117.] 
 
 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an 
advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested to 
promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 
South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other 
formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before 
the opinion is published. 
 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2016-OHIO-8117 
THE STATE EX REL. CARROLL, APPELLANT, v. GALION ASSISTED LIVING, LTD., 
ET AL., APPELLEES. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 
may be cited as State ex rel. Carroll v. Galion Assisted Living, Ltd., Slip 
Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-8117.] 
Workers’ compensation—Claimant had adequate remedy in ordinary course of law 
by way of appeal—Court of appeals’ judgment denying writ of mandamus 
affirmed. 
(No. 2015-1879—Submitted August 30, 2016—Decided December 14, 2016.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Franklin County, 
No. 14AP-944, 2015-Ohio-4874. 
_______________________ 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} Appellant, Tamara L. Carroll, injured her knee while working.  A 
worker’s compensation claim was allowed for a medial meniscus tear of the right 
knee.  Several months later, Joseph Guth, M.D., performed arthroscopic surgery on 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
 
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Carroll’s knee and found no evidence of a meniscus tear.  Based on this new 
evidence, appellee Industrial Commission exercised its continuing jurisdiction and 
disallowed Carroll’s claim. 
{¶ 2} Carroll filed a petition in the Court of Common Pleas of Crawford 
County pursuant to R.C. 4123.512, alleging that she was entitled to participate in 
the workers’ compensation system for her workplace injuries.  Carroll also filed a 
complaint for a writ of mandamus in the Tenth District Court of Appeals, alleging 
that the commission’s decision to deny her claim was an abuse of discretion.  The 
court of appeals denied the writ of mandamus on the basis that Carroll had an 
adequate remedy at law.  2015-Ohio-4874, ¶ 6. 
{¶ 3} This cause is before the court on Carroll’s appeal as of right.  
{¶ 4} Orders that grant or deny a claimant’s right to participate in the 
workers’ compensation system are appealable to a court of common pleas under 
R.C. 4123.512.  State ex rel. Liposchak v. Indus. Comm., 90 Ohio St.3d 276, 278-
279, 737 N.E.2d 519 (2000).  Here, the commission’s order disallowed Carroll’s 
claim and prevented her from further participation in the workers’ compensation 
fund.  Thus, Carroll had an adequate remedy by way of appeal under R.C. 4123.512, 
and she properly exercised her right to appeal when she filed a petition in the 
common pleas court. 
{¶ 5} Consequently, because Carroll had a plain and adequate remedy at 
law by way of appeal, the court of appeals lacked jurisdiction to issue a writ of 
mandamus.  State ex rel. Alhamarshah v. Indus. Comm., 142 Ohio St.3d 524, 2015-
Ohio-1357, 33 N.E.3d 43, ¶ 11.  We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals. 
Judgment affirmed. 
O’CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, KENNEDY, 
FRENCH, and O’NEILL, JJ., concur. 
_________________ 
Michael J. Muldoon, for appellant. 
January Term, 2016 
 
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Michael DeWine, Attorney General, and Eric J. Tarbox, Assistant Attorney 
General, for appellee Industrial Commission. 
Dawson & Myers, L.L.C., and Shane M. Dawson, for appellee Galion 
Assisted Living, Ltd. 
_________________