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State ex rel. Pleasant v. Indus. Comm.

Ohio Ct. App.August 8, 2017No. 15AP-637
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Case Details

Judge(s)
Brunner
Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
Published
Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
Magistrate's decision adopted on appeal; Industrial Commission's orders affirmed

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Outcome

The Industrial Commission of Ohio's decision was affirmed, rejecting the claimant's appeal for temporary total disability and permanent total disability compensation. The commission properly exercised continuing jurisdiction after finding the claimant was capable of and performing sustained remunerative employment.

Excerpt

Magistrate's decision adopted. The Industrial Commission of Ohio did not abuse its discretion by exercising continuing jurisdiction over claims for temporary total disability compensation and permanent total disability compensation for mistakes of fact and fraud, where the evidence showed the claimant was capable of, and was performing, sustained remunerative employment. The commission's orders identified and explained its findings, in accordance with the governing law.

What This Ruling Means

**What Happened** A worker named Pleasant was receiving disability benefits from Ohio's workers' compensation system after a workplace injury. The Industrial Commission of Ohio later discovered that Pleasant was actually able to work and was earning money from a job, despite claiming to be temporarily or permanently disabled. The commission decided to stop Pleasant's disability payments, saying there had been mistakes in the original decision and possibly fraud. Pleasant appealed this decision to court. **What the Court Decided** The court sided with the Industrial Commission of Ohio. The judges ruled that the commission acted properly when it reopened Pleasant's case and stopped the disability payments. The court found that the commission had enough evidence showing Pleasant could work and was actually working, which meant Pleasant wasn't entitled to disability benefits. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case shows that workers' compensation agencies can revisit and change disability benefit decisions if they find new evidence that a worker can actually perform a job. Workers receiving disability benefits should be honest about their work capacity and employment status, as agencies actively investigate these cases. Being caught working while claiming disability can result in losing benefits and potential fraud charges.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

Similar Rulings

State ex rel. Bonnlander v. Hamon (Slip Opinion)
OhioSep 2020

Workers' compensation—Whether a claimant has voluntarily retired or has abandoned the workforce is a question of fact for the Industrial Commission to determine—A court must uphold a factual determination by the commission so long as it is supported by some evidence in the record, regardless of whether evidence supporting a contrary conclusion also exists, even if the contrary evidence is greater in quality or quantity—Court of appeals' judgment affirmed.

Defendant Win
Hamon
Ohio Ct. App.Sep 2019

Under State ex rel. McKee v. Union Metal Corp., 150 Ohio St.3d 223, 2017-Ohio-5541, ¶ 9-11, the commission's order denying permanent total disability compensation was supported by some evidence in the record showing that relator voluntarily abandoned the workforce and was therefore not eligible for benefits. As a result, relator was not entitled to relief in mandamus. Id. at ¶ 11. Objections sustained writ denied.

Defendant Win
State ex rel. Pritt v. Indus. Comm.
Ohio Ct. App.Mar 2018

Because some evidence in the record supports the commission finding relator is medically capable of engaging in sustained remunerative employment of a sedentary nature and the relevant nonmedical disability factors do not preclude relator from currently engaging in such employment, the fact that the commission incorrectly relied on relator's non-allowed conditions as a basis for denying PTD in a separate portion of the order does not constitute grounds for the granting of a writ of mandamus. Writ denied.

Defendant Win
United States Ex Rel. Clausen v. Laboratory Corp. of America, Inc.
11th CircuitMay 2002
Defendant Win
Neilson
C.D. Cal.Oct 2003
Dismissed

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