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EARL KUMMER v. MUTUAL AUTO COMPANY AND ANOTHER

Minnesota Supreme Court1932-03-18No. No. 28,783
185 Minn. 515

Summary

Holding. The industrial commission had jurisdiction to grant a rehearing on the employee's application for additional medical benefits related to his original workplace injury, despite the passage of nearly ten years, because no statute limits the time within which such applications may be filed. The writ of certiorari is discharged.

An employee injured in a work accident in June 1921 received compensation and medical benefits under a settlement agreement approved by the industrial commission in August 1921. Nearly ten years later, in July 1931, the employee applied to reopen the case, claiming that a dental and sinus condition resulting from the original injury had gradually worsened and now required significant surgical and dental treatment costing approximately $250. The relators (the employer and insurer) argued the industrial commission lacked jurisdiction to hear the application for additional medical benefits so long after the original award.

The court examined the applicable workers' compensation statutes and found that while there are time limits for initially filing compensation claims, the statutes contain no restriction on when the commission may grant a rehearing to address additional medical benefits stemming from the original injury. The court noted that compensation, including medical benefits, may be adjusted over time as unforeseen conditions develop from a workplace injury. Because the legislature failed to impose a deadline for applications seeking further medical treatment necessitated by the original injury, the commission retained jurisdiction to consider the employee's request.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether the industrial commission retained jurisdiction to reopen a workers' compensation award for additional medical benefits a decade after the original settlement
  • Whether statutory time limits on compensation claims apply to subsequent applications for unforeseen medical conditions arising from the original injury
  • Whether compensation for medical benefits may be adjusted or reopened after an initial award

Procedural posture

The case came before the court on a writ of certiorari to review an order of the industrial commission granting a rehearing and denying the relators' motion to dismiss the application for lack of jurisdiction.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

Wilson, C. J.

Certiorari to review an order of the industrial commission granting a rehearing and refusing relators’ motion to dismiss the application, the relators’ claim being that the commission was without jurisdiction.

On June 23, 1921, the employe was engaged as a mechanic in a garage. On that day while in the line of duty he suffered an accidental injury while he was riding on a motorcycle with the owner thereof trying to detect the points of necessary repairs. The front tire blew out, and he suffered serious injuries. A report of the accident was filed by the employer on June 28, 1921, and an award based upon a stipulation of settlement was approved by the industrial commission on August 31, 1921. He was paid compensation for seven weeks. The agreement upon which the award was based contained a provision to the effect that the employer would furnish such medical and surgical treatment as the law required. On September 28, 1922, the insurer paid medical, hospital, and surgical expenses, including dental bills, in the sum of $513.50. Apparently all parties supposed the matter was closed.

On July 20, 1931, the employe filed an application with the commission asking that the agreement and award filed and approved about ten years before be vacated and set aside and that the claim be reopened to permit the employe to offer testimony of various doctors and himself in support of the claim that ever since that injury the employe had suffered an open maxillary sinus, which was infected and had been draining into his mouth for several years and which is claimed to be detrimental to his health, to say nothing of the discomfort that it has been causing him. The application shows in detail a much worse condition than we have attempted to describe, showing by the opinion of dentists and doctors that Ms teeth should be removed surgically, the rarefied areas cleaned up, and dentures made for him. It is also represented that after the proper resorption has taken place he should have a permanent set of condensite dentures, and that the total charge of the advised treatment amounts to $250. It is not disputed that the present ailment is the result of the original injury and that it has gradually developed since soon after the time when it was supposed that the employe had fully recovered.

1. The employe’s rights are determined by the law in force at the time of the accident. Eberle v. Miller, 170 Minn. 207, 212 N. W. 190. This accident occurred June 23, 1921. The law then provided that the industrial commission could require the employer to pay for medical, surgical, and hospitalization expenses, etc. for such time and in such amount as would be just under the disclosed facts. G. S. 1923 (1 Mason, 1927) § 4279.

L. 1921, p. 90, c. 82, § 22, provides that an action or proceeding by an injured employe to determine or recover compensation must be prosecuted within two years after the employer has made written report of the injury to the industrial commission. This law Avas amended by L. 1923, p. 398, c. 300, § 7, subd. 1, limiting the right to prosecute such an action or proceeding to six years from the date of the accident. The statute of limitations is thus definitely settled; but it relates to the original presentation of a claim, not to an application for further medical benefits. Here the employe seeks medical benefits for unforeseen conditions resulting directly from the original injury. He seeks to reopen the original proceedings. It is not important whether they were instituted by the claim petition for compensation or by an agreement between the parties. We have held that the compensation, which includes medical benefits, may be adjusted from time to time. Glassman v. Radtke, 177 Minn. 555, 225 N. W. 889.

G. S. 1923 (1 Mason, 1927) § 4319, reads as folloAVs:

“At any time after an award has been made and before the same has been reduced to judgment or Avrit of certiorari issued by the Supreme Court, the commission may for cause, upon application of either party and not less than five days’ notice in writing to all interested parties, set the award aside and grant a new hearing and thereon determine the matter on its merits and make such findings of fact, conclusions of law, and award or disallowance of compensation or other order, as the pleadings and the evidence produced before it and the provisions of this act shall in its judgment require.”

There is no statute limiting the time when the industrial commission may on application grant a rehearing on the propriety of further allowance of medical benefits necessitated or occasioned by the original injury. The legislature has failed to provide a limitation as to the granting of such applications. Johnson v. Iverson, 175 Minn. 319, 221 N. W. 65, 222 N. W. 508; Glassman v. Radtke, 177 Minn. 555, 225 N. W. 889.

It follows that the industrial commission had jurisdiction, and the writ is discharged.