Court Opinion

ID: 9551941
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 19:02:21.549182+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:25:07.760636
License: Public Domain

CONCURRING AND DISSENTING OPINION OF
KOBAYASHI, J.
I concur with the opinion of the majority in all respects, save and except part III. It is my conviction that the statutory presumption in favor of the injured employee has no relevancy and cannot aid the applicant in a proceeding under HRS § 386-89(c).
In my opinion, the majority errs in its statement, to-wit: “Moreover, our holding ... is heightened when we accord proper emphasis to the statutory presumption of HRS § 386-85(1) which we believe to be applicable. ... In addition, HRS § 386-85(1) provides that it is ‘presumed, in the absence of substantial evidence to the contrary . . . [tjhat the claim is for a covered work injury;’ . . . .”
The net result of the above statement is the total emasculation of the requirements of HRS § 386-89(c) that in a reopening proceeding, the claimant must prove by a showing of substantial evidence that a change in or a mistake in a determination of fact related to the physical condition of the claimant has occurred. The burden of proof is on the claimant under § 386-89(c). The opposite is true under the statutory presumption. Yet, the substantive result of the statement of the majority enables the claimant, even in the absence of a showing of substantial evidence, to prevail because the majority of the court accords the claimant the presumption of HRS § 386-85(1) in a proceeding under § 386-89(c).
The opinion of the majority contains a substantive contradiction that is irreconcilable, to-wit: in part I the majority states “the applicant for a review [under HRS § 386-89(c)] must show by substantial evidence ‘a change in or ... a mistake in a determination of fact related to the physical condition of the’ claimant... to justify favorable consideration of the application”; while in part III the majority states *564that the statutory presumption of HRS § 386-85(1) is applicable in a proceeding under § 386-89(c). At the least, the opinion is confusing. If the applicant under § 386-89(c) fails to adduce substantial evidence in support of his application, would the requirement of substantial evidence of § 386-89(c) prevail or would the statutory presumption in favor of the applicant prevail?
I believe that the opinion of the majority goes counter to the plain and clear meaning of the unambiguous provisions of the pertinent parts of § 386-89(c).
For support of its opinion, the majority relies mainly upon Akamine v. Hawaiian Packing & Crating Co., 53 Haw. 406, 495 P.2d 1164 (1972). In my o^mion Akamine is inapposite for it did not involve a reopening proceeding under HRS § 386-89(c). The majority fails to cite any authority supporting its proposition that the statutory presumption aids the applicant in a proceeding under § 386-89(c).
On the other hand, my contention that the statutory presumption does not aid the claimant in a proceeding under HRS § 386-89(c) is not only supported by the clear, plain and unambiguous terms of § 386-89(c), but also by Professor Larson in his treatise, “Workmen’s Compensation Law”.
In § 81.32, vol. 3, Larson states:
In a reopening proceeding, the issue before the board is sharply restricted to the question of extent of improvement or worsening of the injury on which the original award was based. ... In short, no matter who brings the reopening proceeding, neither party can raise original issues such as work connection, employee or employer status, occurrence of a compensable accident, and degree of disability at the time of the first award.
In § 81.33, vol. 3, Professor Larson states:
Since the issue is the degree of change in claimant’s condition, it is important that expert testimony and commission findings on degree of disability be comparative, not absolute; ....
The requirement that the evidence of change be com*565parative is satisfied not only by testimony cast in terms of relatively higher or lower percentages of disability or degrees of seriousness of the condition, but also by a showing of the appearance of a factor that is new in kind rather than in degree. . . .
The burden of proof of showing a change in condition by the preponderance of the evidence is on the party, whether claimant or employer, asserting the change. In meeting this burden, one of the strongest kinds of evidence is of course the testimony of a doctor who has examined claimant and evaluated his disability at both relevant times in the comparison. .. . But if his [doctor’s] only knowledge of claimant’s subsequent condition is based in subjective symptoms or on a history furnished him by the claimant, this is not enough.
Professor Larson continues in § 81.52, vol. 3:
A number of statutes have extended the power of reopening beyond change of condition by express statute. Such statutes sometimes specify additional grounds, such as mistake, or particular mistakes, or fraud and error, or newly discovered evidence, or other listed justifications. The concept of “mistake” requires careful interpretation. It is clear that an allegation of mistake should not be allowed to become a back-door route to retrying a case because one party thinks he can make a better showing on the second attempt. . . . The kind of mistake that will warrant reopening is ordinarily a mistake on the part of the fact-finder ....
The above quotes of Professor Larson clearly show that the statutory presumption does not aid the applicant in a reopening proceeding. See also Phillip v. C and M Auto Spring Co., 9 App. Div. 2d 571, 189 N.Y.S.2d 243 (1959); Andrews v. Einsfeld, 280 App. Div. 1028, 116 N.Y.S.2d 814 (1952). [New York has a statutory presumption provision similar to HRS § 386-85: New York Workmen’s Compensation Law § 21 (McKinney 1965). See also § 22 thereof for modification of awards, decisions or orders.]