Opinion ID: 852817
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Full Board Adoption of Single Hearing Member Findings

Text: Although not challenged on appeal by Dial-X, a majority of the Court of Appeals panel opined that, by adopting without comment the decision of the single hearing member, the decision of the full board was inconsistent with Indiana Code § 22-3-4-7. This provision of the Indiana Worker's Compensation Act states in relevant part that the full board shall make an award and file the same with the finding of the facts on which it is based. [2] The Court of Appeals decision emphasized the need for written findings of fact to enable intelligent appellate review, and asserted that mere adoption of the single hearing member decision is not equivalent to explicit adoption of its findings of fact and conclusions of law. We believe that the distinction between adopting the decision and explicitly adopting the findings and conclusions is overly formalistic and unnecessary. It is of no consequence whether the full board makes separate findings or adopts written findings made by the single hearing member so long as the final decision of the full board may be reviewed in light of the written findings on which the decision is based. Prior cases have recognized that where a hearing officer's statements or findings are supported by the evidence and embody the requisite specificity, the board should not hesitate to adopt and incorporate by reference the hearing officer's work, [3] and that, assuming the appropriate scrutiny occurred, the board is neither prohibited by statute from, nor judicially condemned for, adopting the hearing judge's decision. [4] In this case, the single hearing member made written findings and the full board found that the hearing officer's decision should be adopted. [5] Such adoption is sufficient to attribute to the full board the explicit written findings of the single hearing member and to permit appellate review accordingly.