United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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V.G., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, DALLAS NETWORK 

DISTRIBUTION CENTER, Dallas, TX, 

Employer

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Docket No. 20-1122

Issued: July 26, 2021

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Alternate Judge

On May 4, 2020 appellant filed a timely appeal from a December 5, 2019 nonmerit 

decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate 

Boards docketed the appeal as No. 20-1122.

On February 12, 2019 appellant, then a 58-year-old maintenance custodian, filed a 

traumatic injury claim (Form CA-1) alleging that on December 26, 2018 he injured his left knee 

when he pivoted while descending steps to lift a trash can into a gondola while in the performance 

of duty.

Initially, the employing establishment submitted an occupational disease claim (Form 

CA-2) on appellant’s behalf dated January 3, 2019, signed by S.J., an employing establishment 

manager. OWCP assigned File No. xxxxxx700. Following preliminary development, appellant 

contended that the employing establishment had filed the occupational disease claim in error. He 

then filed the February 12, 2019 traumatic injury claim (Form CA-1). Thereafter, OWCP 

developed the claim as a traumatic injury claim.

By decision dated April 3, 2019, OWCP denied the claim, finding that appellant had not 

established that the December 26, 2018 employment incident occurred as alleged, or that he had 

sustained a left knee injury causally related to his work duties.
2

On November 1, 2019 appellant requested reconsideration and submitted additional 

evidence.

By decision dated December 5, 2019, OWCP denied reconsideration, finding that 

appellant’s November 1, 2019 letter neither raised substantive legal questions, nor included new 

and relevant evidence. It was, therefore, insufficient to warrant a review of OWCP’s prior decision 

on the merits.

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

decision. OWCP’s procedures provide that cases should be administratively combined when 

correct adjudication of the issues depends on frequent cross-referencing between files or when two 

or more injuries occur to the same part of the body.1 For example, if a new injury is reported for 

an employee who previously filed an injury claim for a similar condition or the same part of the 

body or when two or more separate injuries have occurred on the same date, doubling is required.2 

The employing establishment filed a Form CA-2 on appellant’s behalf on January 3, 2019 

regarding the December 2018 left knee injury to which OWCP assigned File No. xxxxxx700. The 

Board notes that the medical record in OWCP File No. xxxxxx700 contains extensive reports and 

diagnostic studies regarding the left knee. 

For a full and fair adjudication, the Board finds that the case must be returned to OWCP to 

administratively combine the current case record with OWCP File No. xxxxxx700 so it can 

properly determine whether it properly denied appellant’s November 1, 2019 request for 

reconsideration. Following this and other such further development as OWCP deems necessary, 

it shall issue an appropriate decision. Accordingly,

 

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

(February 2000).

2

Id.; W.H., Docket No. 20-0986 (issued April 27, 2021); L.H., Docket No. 18-1777 (issued July 2, 2019).
3

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the December 5, 2019 decision of the Office of 

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

consistent with this order of the Board.

Issued: July 26, 2021

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Janice B. Askin, Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board