United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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K.B., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

Charlotte, NC, Employer

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Docket No. 17-2004

Issued: May 4, 2018

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:

CHRISTOPHER J. GODFREY, Chief Judge

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Alternate Judge

On September 26, 2017 appellant filed a timely appeal from an August 16, 2017 merit 

decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) under File No. xxxxxx687, 

which denied appellant’s recurrence of disability claim. The appeal was docketed as 17-2004.

On March 18, 2011 appellant, then a 47-year-old modified clerk, filed a traumatic injury 

claim (Form CA-1) alleging that she experienced a pull in the middle of her back while lifting a 

parcel in the performance of duty on March 17, 2011. OWCP assigned File No. xxxxxx687. 

Appellant accepted a light-duty position as a window clerk on April 5, 2011 with the physical 

requirements of standing for six hours, lifting up to 10 pounds, and two hours each of sitting and 

repetitive motion. By decision dated May 3, 2011, OWCP accepted her claim for lumbar and 

thoracic sprains.

Appellant had a prior back injury on May 29, 2010 which OWCP had accepted for lumbar 

strain. Her prior back injury was assigned OWCP File No. xxxxxx398. Appellant’s two claims 

have not been combined.
2

By decision dated April 24, 2013, OWCP expanded the acceptance of appellant’s current 

claim to include the additional condition of displacement of lumbar intervertebral disc without 

myelopathy.1

On April 27, 2017 appellant filed a claim for wage-loss compensation (Form CA-7) 

alleging disability from work from April 6 through 14, 2017. She indicated that due to her medical 

condition she worked five hours a day and used three hours of leave without pay for the period 

claimed.

In a development letter dated May 1, 2017, OWCP noted her claim for wage-loss 

compensation and indicated that she instead should file a claim for a recurrence of disability (Form 

CA-2a). 

On May 15, 2017 appellant filed a claim for recurrence of disability alleging that on 

April 5, 2017 she sought medical treatment and lost time from work due to her March 17, 2011 

employment injury. She also noted that she had experienced constant back pain since her 

March 17, 2011 injury and that bending and standing too long aggravated her condition. 

By decision dated June 20, 2017, OWCP denied appellant’s recurrence claim, noting that 

she described a new injury due to an intervening factor on her claim form. It directed her to file a 

new traumatic injury claim regarding her allegations of constant bending and standing at work 

resulting in her current lumbar spine and back condition.

Appellant requested reconsideration of OWCP’s June 20, 2017 decision on 

August 7, 2017.

By decision dated August 16, 2017, OWCP reviewed the merits of appellant’s claim and 

found that she had not met her burden of proof to establish a recurrence of disability commencing 

April 26, 2017 due to her accepted March 17, 2011 employment injury. It found that appellant 

had not established either a material change in her accepted conditions or the withdrawal of a 

limited-duty assignment.

The Board has duly considered the matter and notes that the case is not in posture for 

decision. OWCP procedures provide for combining case files where correct adjudication depends 

on cross-referencing between files. For example, if a new injury case is reported for an employee 

who previously filed an injury claim for a similar condition or the same body part, doubling is 

required.2 

Herein, appellant initially filed and OWCP accepted a May 29, 2010 lumbar spine injury, 

in OWCP File No. xxxxxx398. OWCP subsequently accepted a traumatic injury claim due to a 

March 17, 2011 work incident, resulting in lumbar and thoracic strains as well as lumbar 

 

1 OWCP did not accept diagnoses of L4-5 radiculopathy as identified by a second opinion physician, Dr. William L. 

Lehman, Jr., a Board-certified orthopedic surgeon.

2 M.W., Docket No. 17-0743 (issued January 23, 2018); P.G., Docket No. 15-1806 (issued October 4, 2016); 

Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 2 -- Claims, File Maintenance and Management, Chapter 2.400.8(c) 

(February 2000).
3

intervertebral disc without myelopathy, in OWCP File No. xxxxxx687. Appellant filed a claim 

for compensation for lost work hours and was instructed to file a recurrence of disability claim for 

the March 17, 2011 traumatic injury. Her recurrence claim was denied and she was instructed to 

file a new traumatic injury claim. OWCP failed to properly combine the present case record with 

the record of the May 29, 2010 employment injury, which appellant has noted was her first workrelated lumbar spine injury causing disability.

The case will be remanded to OWCP to combine OWCP File Nos. xxxxxx687 and 

xxxxxx398 and determine whether appellant sustained a recurrence of disability from her currently 

accepted conditions or a new employment injury. Following this and such other development as 

deemed necessary, OWCP shall issue a de novo merit decision on appellant’s claim for disability. 

Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the August 16, 2017 decision of the Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs is set aside and the case is remanded to OWCP for further 

action consistent with this order of the Board. 

Issued: May 4, 2018

Washington, DC

Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Alec J. Koromilas, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board