United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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K.B., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, HIGH POINT POST 

OFFICE, High Point, NC, Employer

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Docket No. 21-0594

Issued: November 9, 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

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Alternate Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On March 1, 2021 appellantfiled a timely appeal from a November 23, 2020 merit decision 

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

docketed the appeal as No. 21-0594.

On March 14, 2020 appellant, then a 68-year-old retired city letter carrier, filed an

occupational disease claim (Form CA-2) alleging that factors of his federal employment required 

continuous and intermittent walking, climbing, standing, pushing, pulling, and carrying of the mail 

which caused or aggravated bilateral knee osteoarthritis. He stated that he first realized his 

condition was due to factors of his federal employment on December 9, 2019. OWCP assigned 

the claim OWCP File No. xxxxxx591.

In a supplemental statement, appellant explained that he had previously sustained workrelated injuries to his knees: left knee OWCP File No. xxxxxx892 and right knee OWCP File 

No. xxxxxx131.

By decision dated May 1, 2020, OWCP accepted that appellant had established that the 

employment factors occurred, as alleged, but denied the claim as causal relationship had not been 

established between the diagnosed medical condition and the accepted employment factors. It 

concluded, therefore, that the requirements had not been met to establish an injury or medical 

condition causally related to the accepted employment factors.
2

On November 11, 2020 appellant requested reconsideration and submitted additional 

evidence. By decision dated November 23, 2020, OWCP denied modification of its May 1, 2020 

decision. 

The Board, having duly considered the matter, finds that this case is not in posture for 

decision. 

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

adjudication of the issues depends on frequent cross-referencing between case files.1 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 part of the body, doubling is required. 2 In the present claim, appellant 

alleged injuries to both knees. OWCP previously accepted his claim for a left knee injury under 

OWCP File No. xxxxxx892 and a right knee injury under OWCP File No. xxxxxx131. However, 

the evidence pertaining to those files is not part of the case record presented before the Board. For 

a full and fair adjudication, the case shall be remanded to OWCP to administratively combine the 

current case record with OWCP File No. xxxxxx892 and OWCP File No. xxxxxx131, so it can 

consider all relevant claim files and accompanying evidence in adjudicating appellant’s 

occupational disease claim. Following this and other such further development as deemed 

necessary, OWCP shall issue a de novo decision. Accordingly,

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

(February2000); T.D., Docket No. 20-1119 (issued January 29, 2021); R.R., Docket No. 19-0368 (issued 

November 26, 2019).

2

Id.; M.B., Docket No. 20-1175 (issued December 31, 2020); L.M., Docket No. 19-1490 (issued January 29, 2020). 
3

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the November 23, 2020 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: November 9, 2021

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board