S.N. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Fresno, CA (Board decision, August 1, 2014)

ECAB remand decision and order. The Board set aside OWCP’s June 17, 2013 decision concerning termination of S.N.’s medical and wage-loss benefits. OWCP must consider a medical report it omitted from its decision and issue a new merits decision; continued entitlement to benefits 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). FECA compensation decisions are generally not subject to court review under 5 U.S.C. § 8128(b).

Plain-English summary

S.N. challenged OWCP’s termination of benefits for an accepted urinary condition. In seeking reconsideration, she submitted a physician’s report stating that her urological condition remained related to her work injury and disputing the medical opinion OWCP had relied on. OWCP denied modification but did not address that report. The Board set aside OWCP’s decision and directed it to consider all timely submitted evidence before issuing a new merits decision.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Board precedent in William A. Couch requiring OWCP to consider evidence received before its final decision.
• Outcome: Decision set aside; case remanded for consideration of the omitted report.
• Key point: OWCP must address a timely submitted medical report before deciding reconsideration on the merits.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
S.N., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 14-352
) Issued: August 1, 2014
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS,
)
VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION,
)
Fresno, CA, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Daniel M. Goodkin, Esq., for the appellant
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:
PATRICIA HOWARD FITZGERALD, Acting Chief Judge COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge
ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Alternate Judge

On December 10, 2013 appellant, through counsel, filed an application for review of an Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs’ (OWCP) decision dated June 17, 2013, which denied modification of a March 22, 2012 OWCP decision that terminated her medical and wage- loss benefits for a urinary condition.

The Board has duly considered the matter and finds that the case is not in posture for a decision and must be remanded to OWCP. In the case of William A. Couch,1 the Board held that when adjudicating a claim, OWCP is obligated to consider all evidence properly submitted by a claimant and received by OWCP before the final decision is issued. Following the March 22, 2012 decision that terminated appellant’s medical and wage-loss benefits for her accepted urinary incontinence, appellant’s counsel requested reconsideration on March 19, 2013. With this request, appellant submitted a new March 5, 2013 report from Dr. Harwinder Singh, a Board-certified physiatrist, who supported that appellant continued to have a chronic urological condition due to her April 2002 work injury. In the March 5, 2013 report, Dr. Singh disagreed with the opinion of an OWCP referral physician upon which OWCP based its termination decision. Dr. Singh noted the reasons why he felt that appellant’s urological condition remained employment related. In its June 17, 2013 decision, OWCP denied modification of the March 22, 1 41 ECAB 548 (1990).
2012 decision. It addressed other reports from Dr. Singh and other physicians but it did not consider the March 5, 2013 report from Dr. Singh.

For this reason, the case will be remanded to OWCP to enable it to properly consider all the evidence submitted prior to the issuance of the June 17, 2013 decision. Following this and such further development as OWCP deems necessary, it shall issue an appropriate merit decision.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the June 17, 2013 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs is set aside. The case record is remanded to OWCP for further proceedings consistent with this order of the Board.

Issued: August 1, 2014
Washington, DC

Patricia Howard Fitzgerald, Acting Chief Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Alec J. Koromilas, Alternate Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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