T.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Huntsville, AL (Board decision, May 9, 2012)

ECAB remand decision. The Board set aside OWCP's decision and remanded for further proceedings. The underlying compensation issue remains unresolved in this order. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days of issuance unless this order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a). FECA compensation decisions are generally not subject to court review under 5 U.S.C. § 8128(b).

Plain-English summary

T.W. appealed OWCP's denial of his right elbow injury claim after requesting a schedule award. OWCP had initially paid limited medical expenses on the 1994 claim without formally deciding its merits. The Board found that the record sent to it omitted the original injury claim and medical evidence on which OWCP had relied. It set aside the August 2, 2011 decision and directed OWCP to reconstruct the file and issue a new merits decision.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Complete record needed for Board review.
• Outcome: August 2, 2011 decision set aside; case remanded.
• Key point: The missing original claim and medical reports prevented informed review.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
T.W., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 11-1924
) Issued: May 9, 2012
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE,
)
Huntsville, AL, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Appellant, pro se
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:
RICHARD J. DASCHBACH, Chief Judge
ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Judge
COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge

On August 23, 2011 appellant filed an application for review of an August 2, 2011 merit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), claim number xxxxxx947, which denied modification of a March 2, 2011 decision finding that he did not sustain a work- related right elbow condition.1 The appeal was docketed as number 11-1924.

The Board has duly considered the matter and finds that the case is not in posture for a decision. The present appeal involves appellant’s June 7, 1994 traumatic injury claim which was administratively approved, without formal consideration of the merits of the claim, for limited payment of medical expenses. OWCP subsequently reopened the claim for consideration following his undated request for a schedule award, which it received on November 16, 2010. In its March 2, 2011 decision, it denied the claim on the grounds that fact of injury was not established. Specifically, OWCP found that the medical evidence failed to establish that the diagnosed condition was causally related to the accepted work incident. However, the record transmitted to the Board does not include much of the early evidence in the claim including appellant’s original traumatic injury claim. Furthermore, the record does not contain some of the

1
The August 2, 2011 decision referenced another right elbow injury claim filed by appellant, an occupational disease claim processed under claim number xxxxxx026, which was denied by decision dated June 19, 1995. This other claim is not before the Board on the present appeal. earlier medical evidence from 1994 which OWCP referenced and relied on in denying his claim. This includes but is not limited to evidence from June 1994 from a family physician and Dr. Tejanand Mulpur.

The Board, therefore, finds that the appeal docketed as No. 11-1924 is not in posture for a decision as the Board is unable to render a fully informed adjudication of the case. The case must be remanded to OWCP for reconstruction and proper assemblage of the case record and an appropriate merit decision issued on appellant’s claim in order to preserve his appeal rights.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the August 2, 2011 decision be set aside and the matter remanded to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs for further proceedings consistent with this order.

Issued: May 9, 2012
Washington, DC

Richard J. Daschbach, Chief Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Alec J. Koromilas, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

2