Court Opinion

ID: 7820664
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-07 17:53:29.883611+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:30:43.847289
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, dissenting. I disagree with the majority because of my interpretation of the facts. I agree that appellants have accurately stated the law as has the majority of this Court. I think the Commission properly applied the facts to the law when it held the carrier was on notice that appellant was still being treated for the admitted compensable injury. The majority fail to point out that after the appellant received notice that appellee was still being treated and sent the request for additional information their file was improperly closed and thereafter there was nothing in their office to show the appellee was still being treated. If Dr. Seubold was negligent in not forwarding interim reports it is certainly negligence on the part of appellant to fail to follow up. Simply because the carrier and the doctor failed to do their duties it is unfair to cause appellee to suffer the consequence of their combined negligence. It is normal for an injured employee to assume the matter is being properly handled when she reports the injury and obtains medical services which are paid by the carrier. The average worker is unaware that a formal claim must be filed in order to preserve her rights when she has been informed the case has been accepted as compensable and payments have been made on her behalf. Perhaps there is something missing in our law if a claim may be legally denied because a formal claim was not filed on a particular date. Maybe the filing of notice and having it accepted or denied should be treated as sufficient notice of the claim. Whether this is a good idea is not up to this Court to decide. There is no such provision under the present law. I believe the facts in this particular case fit the decision in Reynolds Metals Company v. Brumley, 226 Ark. 388, 290 S.W. 2d 211 (1956). We therein stated: “This holding follows the general rule that where an employer or his insurance carrier has furnished an injured employee medical and hospital services, this constitutes the payment of compensation or a waiver which suspends the running of the time for filing a claim for compensation.” It is not in keeping with the intent of the Worker’s Compensation Act, nor in the public interest, to allow an employer to accept a claim and pay benefits for medical services furnished to an injured employee and then close the file and do nothing until the statute runs and then deny the balance of the claim. Under the majority opinion, a carrier could receive medical bills and reports and file them away, or destroy them, and then rely on the statute of limitation to defeat a just and fair claim. I would hold that appellant had tolled the statute by accepting the claim and then closing it without even so much as a telephone call to the doctor who they knew was treating the injured employee. The last communication the appellant had with Dr. Seubold was that the appellee was still receiving treatment. They should have known there was at least an outstanding bill. In fact, they did receive another bill before the statute ran but did not pay it. The appellant suddenly became aware of everything as soon as limitations had expired. I see no need to furnish additional citations in support of my position in view of the majority opinion.