G.B. and Department of the Navy, Air Systems Command Center, China Lake, CA (Board decision, February 11, 2016)

ECAB remand decision. The Board set aside OWCP’s traumatic injury denial and returned the claim for consideration of a medical report received before OWCP ruled. 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

G.B. appealed OWCP’s denial of a traumatic injury claim. OWCP said he had supplied no medical evidence, but it had received a surgeon’s report two days before issuing its decision. The Board held that OWCP must consider evidence received before a final decision and remanded for a new ruling. The opinion calls the OWCP decision September 10, 2015 in its reasoning and September 15, 2015 in its order; both dates appear in the official release.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: OWCP duty to review evidence received before its decision.
• Outcome: Traumatic injury denial set aside; claim remanded for review of the surgeon’s report.
• Key point: OWCP had the medical report before it ruled but did not consider it.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
G.B., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 15-1959
) Issued: February 11, 2016
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, AIR
)
SYSTEMS COMMAND CENTER,
)
China Lake, CA, Employer
)
__________ )

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

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:
CHRISTOPHER J. GODFREY, Chief Judge
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge

On September 28, 2015 appellant filed a timely appeal of a September 10, 2015 merit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) which denied his claim for traumatic injury.

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. Couch1 the Board held that when adjudicating a claim, OWCP is obligated to consider all evidence properly submitted by the claimant and received by OWCP before a final decision is issued. In this case, OWCP denied appellant’s claim for a traumatic injury by decision dated September 10, 2015. That decision found that he had failed to provide any medical evidence to support his claim.

On September 8, 2015 however OWCP received an August 31, 2015 report from Dr. Mehul Taylor, a Board-certified orthopedic surgeon. The Board finds that OWCP did not review the medical evidence it received on September 8, 2015. The Board has held that OWCP must review all evidence submitted by claimant prior to the issuance of a final decision.2 This 1 41 ECAB 548 (1990).
2
Linda Johnson, 45 ECAB 439 (1994). case is remanded to OWCP to enable it to properly consider all the evidence submitted at the time of its September 10, 2015 decision.

Following such further development as OWCP deems necessary, it shall issue an appropriate decision on appellant’s claim.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the September 15, 2015 Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs’ decision is set aside. The case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with the order of the Board.

Issued: February 11, 2016
Washington, DC

Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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