Opinion ID: 1855579
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Was there a conflict of interest within the Disability Appeals Committee?

Text: ¶ 11. [T]here is a presumption that the officers conducting the hearing and the members of the Board behave honestly and fairly in the conduct of the hearings and in the decision-making process. Absent some showing of personal or financial interest on the part of the hearing officer or evidence of misconduct on the officer's part, this presumption is not overcome. The hearing officer might well be an employee of the permitting board or a member of the board itself. United Cement Co. v. Safe Air for the Env't, Inc., 558 So.2d 840, 842-43 (Miss.1990). ¶ 12. The Disability Appeals Committee which heard Mrs. Fulce's appeal on August 10, 1998, was comprised of Special Assistant Attorney General Trish Abston and three physicians: Dr. Trespacz, Dr. Duddleston, and Dr. Nicholas. During the course of the hearing, each of the physicians questioned Mrs. Fulce about her health and prior medical treatment. On appeal, Mrs. Fulce argues that these physicians assumed an adversarial role when they questioned her, and alleges that, in light of this supposed adversarial position, a conflict of interest arose once the doctors voted on her appeal. She further asserts that it was unnecessary for the physicians sitting on the Committee to question her at the hearing because PERS was represented by counsel, said counsel being able to elicit all necessary information. She finishes her argument by claiming to be prejudiced by this alleged conflict of interest. No authority has been cited by Mrs. Fulce or found by this Court which supports her argument. ¶ 13. Mrs. Fulce also argues that some of the doctors who sat on the Disability Appeals Committee and reviewed the Medical Board's decision to terminate her benefits also sat on the Medical Board itself. In essence, she argues that these doctors were reviewing their own decision, which gave rise to a conflict of interest. The record does not indicate who sat on the Medical Board that initially voted to terminate Mrs. Fulce's disability benefits, and Mrs. Fulce fails to provide any proof as to the identities of the board members. Therefore, this argument also fails, and we hold that no conflict of interest existed within the Disability Appeals Committee.