Opinion ID: 880530
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Psychological Condition

Text: Mr. Whitcher also contends that the parties were mutually mistaken about certain diagnosed personality disorders, which he claims did not become active until after the injury and the settlement. This Court has found mutual mistake where a claimant's lower back injury was later determined to have aggravated a pre-existing condition of cerebral palsy which the parties did not take into account at the time of the impairment rating and settlement agreement. Kienas v. Peterson, 624 P.2d at 3. However, there is no evidence here which would support a similar conclusion. While it is clear that Mr. Whitcher suffered a number of psychological impairments, there is no evidence to connect those impairments to the back injury. The psychologist's report indicates that Mr. Whitcher suffered a chronic personality disorder, which he described as: ... (a) generally inadequate adjustment over a number of years, probably first appearing as a teenager, or maybe even a little earlier than that, inadequately adjusting to school, dropping out, not finding any consistent satisfactory type of work, having some family, marital problems. The evidence indicates that this described condition persisted following the claimant's injury. However, there is no evidence that it was the claimant's personality disorder which was the source of his frustration so much as it was just an unfortunate series of events which occurred following the injury. Mr. Whitcher was examined again in 1982 by a different clinical psychologist who also identified several personality disorders, one of which he characterized as a schizoid tendency. When asked about the relationship between the claimant's schizoid behavior and his back condition, the psychologist testified: ... I think that in this instance, that he is apt to show rather inconsistent behavior with regard to his back problem. It is going to bother him maybe sometimes a bit more; sometimes he is going to ignore it. He is going to take a very obtuse attitude, he might, I don't know; like nothing is wrong with me. I am going to go ahead and work. I am not going to lie, I am not going to tell anybody; it will be some irratic behavior about the way he treats his back. I don't think the back injury is going to make the schizoid personality disorder worse, it is not going to make it worse, it is just going from this way to this way. Our examination of the record leads us to conclude that even if the parties did not take into account the existence of the claimant's personality disorder at the time of the settlement, there is no basis upon which to find a mutual mistake of fact. The evidence does not indicate that the personality disorder was aggravated by the injury or that there was any connection between the injury and the disorder. Even if we had found some basis upon which to consider this case on the merits, the Workers' Compensation Court concluded that Mr. Whitcher's claim is barred by the statute of limitations so that his request to reopen the petition should be denied. In declining to reopen Mr. Whitcher's settlement agreement based on the grounds of mutual mistake, the Workers' Compensation Court applied the following statute of limitations: The period prescribed for the commencement of an action for relief on the ground of fraud or mistake is within 2 years, the cause of action in such case not to be deemed to have accrued until the discovery by the aggrieved party of the facts constituting the fraud or mistake. Section 27-2-203, MCA. Since the settlement was completed and approved by the proper authorities in April of 1980, the court concluded that under the statute, Mr. Whitcher had until April of 1982 to file his claim. Since it did not appear that he was seeking medical care during that time until he returned to see his doctor in April, 1982, the court noted that the statute may not have begun to run until that time. Based on medical facts and Mr. Whitcher's debilitating condition in 1982, the court concluded that the limitation period would have expired by at least the fall of 1984. Thus, the claim filed in 1987 was barred by the two year statute of limitations in either case. Finally, the court noted that the only possibility of not being precluded by the statute of limitations from bringing this claim would be if Mr. Whitcher's mental capacity was such as to make him unable to knowingly be charged with the statute. Since this possibility was neither raised or pursued by the claimant, the court did not consider it as an issue and stated, Unfortunately, the harsh reality of his claim under the circumstances gives the Court no alternative but to deny his request. We conclude that the determination by the Workers' Compensation Court that Mr. Whitcher's claim is barred by the statute of limitations is a correct application of the law in light of the facts of this case. There is no evidence that the statute should be tolled either by latent discovery or by the claimant's mental condition. We affirm the court's denial of the claimant's request to open the Petition for Full and Final Compromise Settlement. We note the Workers' Compensation Court's concern for Mr. Whitcher's mental, physical, and emotional condition, and the benefits to which the court deemed him entitled. These benefits include medical coverage, a 20% penalty against the insurer, rehabilitation, and costs and attorney fees for the medical benefits issue upon which he prevailed. AFFIRMED. TURNAGE, C.J., and HARRISON and GULBRANDSON, JJ., concur. HUNT and McDONOUGH, JJ., did not participate in this cause.