United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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A.N., Appellant

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U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

City of Industry, CA, Employer

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Docket No. 21-1099

Issued: February 6, 2023

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

JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On July 14, 2021 appellant filed a timely appeal from a June 11, 2021 merit decision of the 

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

docketed the appeal as No. 21-1099.

On August 14, 2020 appellant, then a 64-year-old laborer custodian, filed a traumatic injury 

claim (Form CA-1) alleging that on July 13, 2020 he injured his lower back when he stood upright 

from a bending position mopping a spill underneath an automated package processing system 

(APPS) machine while in the performance of duty.1 He stopped work on July 14, 2020 and 

returned to work on July 21, 2020. 

By decision dated September 30, 2020, OWCP denied appellant’s claim. It found that he 

had not established causal relationship between the accepted July 13, 2020 employment incident 

and his diagnosed conditions.

1 Appellant has a previously accepted May 10, 2015 traumatic injury claim for sprain of lumbar back OWCP File 

No. xxxxxx640. On December 8, 2016 OWCP expanded the acceptance of this claim to include acute lumbar disc 

herniation and permanent aggravation of the degenerative disc disease. 
2

On December 10, 2020 appellant requested reconsideration and submitted new evidence. 

By decision dated March 2, 2021, OWCP denied modification of its September 30, 2020 decision. 

On April 1, 2021 appellant again requested reconsideration and submitted new evidence. 

By decision dated June 11, 2021, OWCP denied modification of its March 2, 2021 decision.

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.2 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, doubling is required.3 In the instant case, appellant 

has an accepted claim for sprain of lumbar back, acute lumbar disc herniation, and permanent 

aggravation of the degenerative disc disease under OWCP File No. xxxxxx640. He subsequently

filed the present traumatic injury claim alleging that he reinjured his lower back under OWCP File 

No. xxxxxx455. The evidence pertaining to his previously accepted claim under OWCP File No. 

xxxxxx640, however, is not part of the case record presently before the Board.

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

to administratively combine the case records for OWCP File Nos. xxxxxx640 and xxxxxx455, so 

it can properly determine whether appellant has established that his diagnosed lower back 

conditions were causally related to the accepted July 13, 2020 employment incident.4 Following 

this and other such further development as deemed necessary, OWCP shall issue a de novo decision 

on the merits of appellant’s claim.

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

(February 2000). See also C.M., Docket No. 20-1451 (issued July 26, 2021).

3

Id.; see P.B., Docket No. 19-1532 (issued April 30, 2020); L.H., Docket No 18-1777 (issued July 2, 2019).

4 See S.N., Docket No. 20-0208 (issued June 15, 2020); J.N., Order Remanding Case, Docket No. 19-1847 (issued 

April 30, 2020).
3

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the June 11, 2021 decision of the Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs is set aside and this case is remanded for further proceedings consistent 

with this order of the Board.

Issued: February 6, 2023

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Janice B. Askin, Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

James D. McGinley, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board