V.W. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC (Board decision, March 12, 2013)

ECAB remand decision. The Board granted OWCP's motion to remand and set aside its May 4, 2012 decision. OWCP acknowledged that V.W. was performing his duties during the incident; whether it caused a compensable knee injury remains unresolved. Under 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d), this Board order becomes final 30 days after issuance. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days unless this order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

V.W., a National Park Service maintenance worker, reported a right knee injury after jumping down from a wall while handling trashcans at work. OWCP had denied the claim on the ground that he was outside the performance of duty. On appeal, OWCP acknowledged that the activity was reasonably incidental to his job and asked for a remand. The Board granted that request, set aside the denial, and directed OWCP to decide whether the incident caused the claimed injury after reviewing the medical evidence.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: FECA work injury coverage, 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.
• Outcome: May 4, 2012 decision set aside; case remanded for medical causation review.
• Key point: The work connection of the incident was accepted, leaving medical causation for OWCP to decide.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
V.W., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 13-60
) Issued: March 12, 2013
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
)
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, Washington, DC,
)
Employer
)
__________
Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Richard A. Daniels, for the appellant
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER GRANTING REMAND

Before:
RICHARD J. DASCHBACH, Chief Judge
COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge
PATRICIA HOWARD FITZGERALD, Judge

On October 10, 2012 appellant, through his representative, filed a timely appeal from a May 4, 2012 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs1 (OWCP). By that decision OWCP modified the denial of appellant’s claim for fact of injury to reflect that he had not established that his injury had been sustained in the performance of duty.

The Director of OWCP filed a motion on December 3, 2012 requesting the Board to set aside the May 4, 2012 decision and remand the case for further specified development. The Director acknowledged that appellant had been in the performance of duty on April 22, 2009 when he jumped down from a five foot wall after dumping trashcans as his actions were “reasonably incidental to his employment.” The Director concluded that as appellant established that he was in the performance of duty on April 22, 2009 then OWCP must consider whether appellant’s injury was causally related to the April 22, 2009 incident. On remand, the Director stated that OWCP will review all the medical evidence of record and provide appellant the

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On May 1, 2009 appellant, then a 49-year-old maintenance worker, filed a traumatic injury claim alleging that on April 22, 2009 he sprained his right knee when he jumped down from a five foot wall after he had just finished dumping trashcans. OWCP denied his claim on March 1, 2010 on the grounds that, although the April 22, 2009 incident occurred as alleged, he failed to establish that the claimed medical condition resulted from the accepted incident. An OWCP hearing representative affirmed the denial of his claim on December 13, 2010. opportunity to submit any additional evidence or argument relevant to his entitlement to FECA benefits. Following this and any necessary further development, the Director stated that OWCP will issue a de novo decision on the issue of whether appellant established that his knee injury was causally related to the accepted April 22, 2009 incident.

The Clerk of the Board served appellant with a copy of the Director’s motion to remand.

The Board has duly considered the matter and concludes that, as the Director has acknowledged that OWCP incorrectly determined that appellant was not in the performance of duty on April 22, 2009 and as on remand OWCP will review all the medical evidence in considering the issue of causal relationship and issue a de novo decision following any necessary further development, the Director’s motion to remand should be granted. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the motion to remand filed by the Director of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs is granted. The decision of OWCP dated May 4, 2012 is set aside; the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this order.

Issued: March 12, 2013
Washington, DC

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

Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia Howard Fitzgerald, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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