Opinion ID: 884122
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Workers' Compensation Court's Standard of Review

Text: The Workers' Compensation Court agreed that § 39-72-408, MCA (proximate cause) must be read together with § 39-27-706, MCA, which provides for apportionment between occupational and non-occupational causes. Nonetheless, the Workers' Compensation Court went on to hold that the findings of the Department of Labor's hearings examiner were not clearly erroneous. Under § 39-72-612, MCA, the judge of the Workers' Compensation Curt may overrule the decision of the Department of Labor when it is: (a) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (b) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (c) made upon unlawful procedure; (d) affected by other error of law; (e) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (f) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion. The Workers' Compensation Court erred in reviewing only for clearly erroneous findings of fact. Whether the hearings examiner applied the appropriate test for proximate causation is a question of law. Thus, pursuant to § 39-72-612, MCA, the Workers' Compensation Court should have reviewed the Department of Labor's decision not only for clearly erroneous findings of fact, but also to determine whether the decision was affected by an error of law.