Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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P.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
P.H. (ECAB 13-778): Termination of back injury benefits upheld
P.H., a postal employee, received benefits for an accepted lumbar sprain after a workplace fall. Her treating physician and an OWCP second opinion physician disagreed about whether the injury still caused disability or required treatment. An impartial specialist found that the sprain had resolved…
Y.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Carol Stream, IL
Y.G. (ECAB 13-708): Emotional condition claim not reopened
Y.G., a postal worker, had previously been denied an emotional condition claim because she had not substantiated a compensable work factor. She later requested reconsideration, saying she should have filed the matter as a recurrence under an earlier neck injury claim. The Board found that she had…
J.A. and Federal Judiciary, U.S. Probation Service, Cleveland, OH
J.A. (ECAB 13-690): Training incident did not establish a cervical injury
J.A., a federal probation officer with a preexisting cervical condition, reported symptoms after punching a training dummy during required defensive training. OWCP accepted that the incident happened but denied a related injury. The Board found that his neurosurgeon described the preexisting…
N.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Bay Valley Performance Cluster, Oakland, CA
N.R. (ECAB 13-673): Intermittent disability payment decision upheld
N.R., a postal carrier, received compensation for an accepted adjustment disorder and claimed intermittent disability periods. OWCP added several payable days in April 2010 and the initial waiting days after new medical evidence showed disability exceeded 14 days. The Board upheld those payments…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Selma, AL
A.S. (ECAB 13-587): Mail-route fall claim lacked medical causation evidence
A.S., a letter carrier, fell while descending steps on his route and said leg numbness from a preexisting back condition caused the fall. OWCP accepted that the fall occurred but denied the injury claim. The Board found that the physicians’ reports did not adequately explain the ankle condition’s…
A.P. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA
A.P. (ECAB 13-101): Existing wage-capacity decision left in place
A.P., a Navy employee, sought to change a wage-capacity determination based on a modified recycling specialist job. He said his medical condition had worsened. The Board found that his reports described pain and conditions that OWCP had not accepted, but did not explain a material worsening of the…
N.F. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Coatesville Veterans Administration Medical Center, Coatesville, PA
N.F. (ECAB 12-1664): Recurrence denial upheld; new disease claim sent back
N.F., a VA employee, claimed that her accepted arm injuries caused a recurrence of disability while she worked as a pharmacy clerk. The Board gave special weight to an impartial physician’s opinion that she had no work-related right arm limitation at the time of his examination. It found that the…
H.H. and Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, OK
H.H. (ECAB 12-849): Hearing loss claim rescission upheld
H.H., an Air Force inventory specialist, claimed that workplace noise caused his hearing loss. OWCP first accepted the condition, then rescinded that acceptance after medical review. The Board found that the medical opinions attributed the loss to aging rather than occupational noise, and that OWCP…
Sec. of Labor obo Timothy Orr v. CML Metals Corp.
MSHA jurisdiction upheld
CML Metals processed iron ore at the GDC Crusher #1 Mine, and employee Timothy Orr repaired railroad cars and a rail spur used to move ore. Orr claimed he was injured while repairing a rail car, and CML reported the injury to the Federal Railroad Administration. In the Secretary’s…
Matter of E-S-I-, Respondent
Matter of E-S-I- (BIA ID 3784): notice service safeguards for respondents with apparent incompetency
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings involving a Nigerian lawful permanent resident with apparent mental incompetency. The Board held that when indicia of incompetency are manifest, DHS should serve the notice to…
R.C. and Department of the Army, Army Depot, Tobyhanna, PA
R.C. (ECAB 13-926): Hernia claim and late record review denied
R.C., an Army Depot painter, reported a hernia after pulling an overhead crane at work. His surgeon diagnosed hernias but did not explain how the work incident caused them. The Board held that the medical evidence did not establish a work-related injury, so it upheld OWCP’s denial of compensation…
L.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Atlantic City, NJ
L.F. (ECAB 13-840): Reconsideration denied without merits review
L.F., a postal mail processing clerk, sought reconsideration after OWCP denied her claim for neck and shoulder injuries. Her attorney said a new medical report was enclosed, but the record did not show that OWCP received one. The Board found no new evidence or relevant legal argument requiring OWCP…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
D.J. (ECAB 13-662): Additional left arm schedule award denied
D.J., a postal distribution clerk, had previously received awards for six percent permanent impairment of her left arm. She sought another award based on an accepted left trigger finger condition. The Board found that her medical reports did not give an impairment rating for that condition. One…
C.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baltimore, MD
C.K. (ECAB 13-564): Late reconsideration request denied
C.K., a postal clerk with an accepted bilateral shoulder condition, sought medical treatment for renewed symptoms after moving. OWCP denied her recurrence claim, and she later requested reconsideration. The Board found that her reconsideration request came more than one year after the last merit…
K.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Quakertown, PA
K.M. (ECAB 13-562): Arm impairment ratings sent back for clarification
K.M., a postal letter carrier with an accepted aggravation of cervical disc disease, received schedule awards for four percent impairment of each arm. She sought a larger award. The Board found that her physician used an impairment table for brachial plexus injuries without showing that she had…
S.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Merrifield, VA
S.M. (ECAB 13-534): Foot neuroma claim returned for medical development
S.M., a postal letter carrier, claimed that long daily walks on her routes caused or aggravated a right foot neuroma. OWCP denied the claim for insufficient medical evidence. The Board found that her treating physician’s reports did not fully establish causation, but they offered an uncontradicted…
N.Z. and U.S. Postal Service, Sheffield Station, Wayne, NJ
N.Z. (ECAB 13-75): Schedule award sent back over examiner selection
N.Z., a postal clerk, sought an increased schedule award for a right arm injury. OWCP relied on an impartial orthopedic examiner to resolve conflicting medical ratings. The Board found that OWCP’s record did not explain why an earlier physician in the selection rotation had been bypassed. Without…
W.H. and Peace Corps, Volunteer Services, Mombasa, Kenya
W.H. (ECAB 12-1738): Earlier wage-loss period unproven
W.H., a former Peace Corps volunteer, had accepted psychiatric conditions from an incident during his service in Kenya. He sought wage-loss compensation for a period before the compensation he was already receiving. The Board found that his physicians described psychiatric symptoms and difficulty…
D.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Edmonds, WA
D.J. (ECAB 12-1332): Late record review denied; injury claim returned
D.J., a postal letter carrier, claimed a leg and ankle injury after a vehicle collision at work. OWCP denied his claim and later denied both a request for written-record review and a request for reconsideration. The Board upheld the written-record denial because D.J. requested it after the 30-day…
Northshore Mining Company
Mixed citation rulings and $31,389 penalty
Northshore Mining operated an iron-ore pellet plant and mine in Minnesota. The Judge ruled on contested citations involving equipment guarding, electrical protection, and walkways, and approved settlements covering additional citations. He vacated some citations, modified others to non-S&S findings…
Matter of Giovanny Rivas
Section 212(h) waiver requires a concurrent adjustment application
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's decision granting a section 212(h) waiver to a Colombian lawful permanent resident who had two petit larceny convictions in Florida. The Immigration Judge granted the waiver nunc pro tunc without a…
V.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Colorado Springs, CO
V.P. (ECAB 13-783): Three percent left arm award upheld
V.P., a postal rural carrier, sought a schedule award for left wrist and hand conditions. Her physician rated her left arm impairment at seven percent, while OWCP’s medical adviser rated it at three percent. The Board found that her physician had circled ratings on a form without explaining the…
C.B. and Department of Defense, Dover Air Force Base, Dover, DE
C.B. (ECAB 13-760): Shoulder injury from specific lifting event unproven
C.B., a store associate at Dover Air Force Base, claimed a left shoulder injury from lifting detergent cases on a particular workday. OWCP accepted that the lifting happened but found no medical proof connecting it to her shoulder condition. Her orthopedic surgeon linked the condition to repetitive…
D.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Columbus, OH
D.A. (ECAB 13-718): No ratable impairment from accepted injuries
D.A., a postal worker, sought a schedule award after accepted dog bite and leg injuries. His physicians discussed hip disease and replacement surgery, but the hip condition had not been accepted as work related. An OWCP examiner found that the accepted injuries had resolved without permanent…
B.J., claiming as widow of M.J., and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Richmond, VA
B.J. (ECAB 13-543): Survivor claim returned for impartial medical review
B.J. sought survivor benefits after her husband, a postal employee, died from a pulmonary condition. OWCP had accepted a temporary work-related aggravation of his preexisting pulmonary fibrosis, but denied that his death was work related. The Board found that OWCP had not properly informed B.J.’s…
A.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Greensboro, NC
A.S. (ECAB 13-424): Additional left arm award denied
A.S., a postal mail processor, had an accepted neck injury and a prior schedule award for two percent left arm impairment. He sought an increased award after another cervical spine surgery. The Board found that a physician’s ratings for the spine and whole person could not support an additional arm…
R.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, St. Louis, MO
R.L. (ECAB 13-384): Recurrence claim lacks current medical evidence
R.L., a former postal distribution clerk, sought compensation for renewed disability attributed to a left finger injury accepted in 1992. She described ongoing pain and other conditions, but submitted no medical evidence with the recurrence claim. The most recent medical note in the record was from…
A.B. and Department of the Army, Army Depot, Anniston, AL
A.B. (ECAB 13-316): Hearing award denied; hearing aids and review reopened
A.B., an Army Depot machinist supervisor, had an accepted work-related hearing loss. The Board upheld OWCP’s finding that the loss did not meet the threshold for a schedule award. It found that OWCP needed to explain its denial of hearing aids because two physicians recommended them and the medical…
Subzero Technologies, Inc.
Late contest relief denied
OSHA issued Subzero Technologies twenty-one serious and two other-than-serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $37,800. The company missed the 15-working-day contest deadline, contacted OSHA only after receiving a payment demand, and then waited several more months before asking the…
Duraframe Dipnet
Contest dismissed after repeated procedural defaults
OSHA cited Duraframe Dipnet for sixteen serious, three repeat, and one other-than-serious violation, with proposed penalties totaling $71,400. The employer timely contested but then failed to answer discovery, comply with multiple orders, attend the final pretrial conference, respond to a sanctions…
Gipson-Ricketts, LLC
Lead protection items affirmed for shooting-range recovery work
Gipson-Ricketts recovered lead shot from a shooting range by screening dry, dusty topsoil. The judge treated the work as general industry rather than construction because the company's primary activity was collecting lead and returning the soil, not permanently changing the site. Employees used…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Reuben Shemwell v. Armstrong Coal Company, Inc. and Armstrong Fabricators, Inc.
Retaliatory state lawsuit had to be dismissed
Armstrong filed a Kentucky tort lawsuit against welder Reuben Shemwell after he used the Mine Act process to allege that his discharge was retaliatory. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the lawsuit interfered with Shemwell's protected right to file a discrimination complaint and would discourage…
E.M. and Department of the Navy, Navy Installations Command, San Diego, CA
E.M. (ECAB 13-782): Fitness-test knee injury claim denied
E.M., a Navy police officer, claimed he injured his right knee while running during a mandatory fitness test. Witnesses confirmed the test occurred, but medical histories described a fall and twisted knee rather than injury during the run. The Board also noted the delayed claim and inconsistent…
W.P., claiming as widow of E.P., and U.S. Customs Service, Elk Grove Village, IL
W.P. (ECAB 13-655): Survivor benefits denial upheld
W.P. sought survivor benefits after E.P., a Customs Service employee with accepted conditions following workplace mold exposure, died in 2009. Medical opinions conflicted over whether the exposure or accepted conditions contributed to the death. An impartial physician reviewed the accepted…
A.B. and Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
A.B. (ECAB 13-558): Emotional condition denial upheld on revised grounds
A.B., an airfield systems specialist with an accepted earlier injury and PTSD, reported renewed symptoms while working near aircraft. OWCP denied his new claim after finding the later incident unproven. The Board found that he was performing his regular duties on the airfield that day, as he…
T.V. and Department of the Interior, BLM Regular Employee Functions, Vale, OR
T.V. (ECAB 13-533): Hernia condition does not support schedule award
T.V., a former firefighter, had an accepted right inguinal hernia and related nerve entrapment from lifting a stump at work. He sought a schedule award, and a physician rated impairment of the sciatic nerve. The Board found that the physician had not adequately connected that different nerve…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Salt Lake Performance Cluster, Salt Lake City, UT
S.B. (ECAB 13-507): Reconsideration arrived after one-year deadline
S.B., a former postal letter carrier, challenged OWCP’s termination of benefits for accepted hand conditions. She mailed a reconsideration request before the one-year anniversary of the last merit decision, but OWCP received it afterward. The Board applied the rule then in effect, which measured…
S.R. and Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, Fort Dix, NJ
S.R. (ECAB 13-473): $726.96 overpayment and fault finding upheld
S.R., a Bureau of Prisons employee, returned to light-duty work after an accepted knee injury. She later submitted a wage-loss claim covering days after that return and received disability compensation for those days. The Board upheld OWCP’s calculation of a $726.96 overpayment. It also upheld the…
L.B. and Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Department, San Diego, CA
L.B. (ECAB 13-448): $220,155.28 overpayment finding reversed
L.B., a Navy employee, received FECA compensation after a civilian work injury and disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. OWCP concluded that the concurrent payments created a $220,155.28 overpayment. The Board found that the veterans’ benefits covered conditions OWCP had not…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dickson, TN
D.T. (ECAB 13-832): Intermittent disability not tied to accepted injury
D.T., a postal rural carrier, had an accepted right shoulder injury from a 2008 delivery incident. She later sought compensation for 18.91 hours of intermittent disability in early 2012. The Board found that her physician did not explain how the accepted 2008 injury, rather than later reported…
G.T. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, North Las Vegas, NV
G.T. (ECAB 13-822): Airborne exposure claim lacked identification and medical proof
G.T., a VA nurse, reported respiratory and other symptoms she attributed to unidentified workplace agents. The Board found that her statements described where symptoms occurred but did not identify a specific substance or establish an exposure to it. She also submitted no medical report diagnosing…
S.D. and Department of the Interior, Page, AZ
S.D. (ECAB 13-801): Shoulder claim denial upheld as modified
S.D., an Interior Department visitor assistant, reached for a visitor’s tipping motorcycle and claimed that he aggravated a preexisting left shoulder condition. The Board accepted that the incident occurred during his duties. His only medical report, however, was signed by a physician’s assistant…
R.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Cincinnati, OH
R.O. (ECAB 13-626): Back claim returned for medical development
R.O., a postal clerk with an earlier back injury, claimed worsening back problems after new duties involving lifting, bending, and twisting. OWCP treated the claim as a new occupational disease and denied it for insufficient medical evidence. The Board found that a neurosurgeon’s opinion linked the…
R.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hermitage, PA
R.S. (ECAB 13-610): Late reconsideration lacked clear evidence of error
R.S., a postal letter carrier, asked OWCP to reconsider its denial of a claim for injuries from a fall while delivering mail. Her form and medical records listed different dates for the fall. The Board held that her reconsideration request was late and that her explanations did not clearly show…
T.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Jackson, MS
T.C. (ECAB 13-415): Shoulder and neck claim lacked reasoned medical link
T.C., a postal automation clerk, claimed that his work caused left shoulder and neck conditions. Diagnostic studies and physicians documented several conditions. One physician attributed them to work but did not describe specific duties or explain how those duties caused or aggravated the…
C.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Bakersfield, CA
C.C. (ECAB 13-358): Lumbar condition claim returned for specialist review
C.C., a postal mail clerk, claimed that repeated lifting and bending at work worsened her lumbar condition. OWCP denied the claim for insufficient proof of causation. A family physician later described her duties, preexisting disc disease, and a possible mechanism by which lifting could worsen the…
G.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dodge City, KS
G.W. (ECAB 13-317): Cervical surgery claim returned for second opinion
G.W., a postal letter carrier, had an accepted cervical condition and later underwent a three-level cervical fusion. His physicians said his mail-carrying duties contributed to the condition and supported surgery, while OWCP’s medical adviser questioned whether surgery was warranted. The Board…
L.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, West Des Moines, IA
L.P. (ECAB 12-1297): Wage-capacity issue returned after modified job withdrawal
L.P., a postal letter carrier with accepted knee and arm conditions, worked in a modified position that OWCP used to set her wage-earning capacity at no loss. The Postal Service later withdrew the position under its National Reassessment Program and sent her home. OWCP declined to change the…
B.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Minuet Station, Charlotte, NC
B.F. (ECAB 13-739): Shoulder claim lacked a causal medical opinion
B.F., a postal letter carrier, claimed that repetitive casing, lifting, and delivery duties caused a right shoulder injury. OWCP accepted the described duties, and medical reports documented shoulder conditions. The Board found that the physicians did not explain whether those duties caused or…
D.W. and Department of the Air Force, Whiteman Air Force Base, MO
D.W. (ECAB 13-668): Late reconsideration lacked clear error
D.W., an Air Force employee, sought reconsideration of a denied back claim several years after OWCP’s last merit decision. He submitted medical reports linking a later surgery to an accepted 1975 back injury. The Board found that the reports asserted a progression of disease without enough medical…
K.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Post Office, Parlin, NJ
K.B. (ECAB 13-569): Earlier pay rate governs schedule award
K.B., a former postal clerk, received a schedule award for impairment of both legs. He challenged the pay rate used to calculate the award, asking OWCP to use the date of his 2010 knee surgery as a recurrence date. The Board found that he had not returned to regular full-time work after stopping in…
F.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Francisco, CA
F.M. (ECAB 13-557): Late oral-hearing request denied
F.M., a postal mail carrier, sought further medical care for an accepted neck strain. OWCP denied his recurrence claim, and he requested an oral hearing more than 30 days later. The Board held that the late request gave him no right to a hearing. It also found that OWCP reasonably declined a…
V.I. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Shelburne, VT
V.I. (ECAB 13-468): Back and leg claim lacked reasoned medical support
V.I., a postal rural carrier, claimed that twisting to lift mail trays and sitting for long periods in a delivery vehicle caused back and leg symptoms. The Board accepted that he performed those duties. His physician said the symptoms were likely work related but did not describe the specific…
D.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Keyport, NJ
D.K. (ECAB 13-230): Shoulder surgery question sent to impartial examiner
D.K., a postal employee, sought authorization for a second right shoulder arthroscopy after OWCP had approved an earlier shoulder operation. Her treating surgeon recommended the new procedure, while OWCP’s referral physicians concluded that it was not medically warranted. The Board found a genuine…
R.N. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Soddy Daisy, TN
R.N. (ECAB 12-1578): Termination of injury benefits reversed
R.N., a nuclear plant maintenance supervisor, received benefits for an accepted lumbar strain after a chair collapsed at work. OWCP terminated his compensation and medical benefits based on a referral physician’s opinion that the injury had resolved. R.N.’s treating physician concluded that…
D.K. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Houston, TX
D.K. (ECAB 12-1190): Lower extremity schedule award affirmed
D.K., a Veterans Affairs employee, had several accepted leg, knee, ankle, and back injuries. OWCP awarded compensation for permanent impairment of both lower extremities. She sought a larger schedule award, including compensation for bowel and bladder impairment. The Board found that OWCP’s medical…
Secretary of Labor v. Gopher Construction, Inc. and Donald Tibbals
Berm violations upheld and owner liability vacated
Gopher Construction argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction because its sand and gravel pit was temporarily closed and its crews were only rebuilding a boundary fence. Judge William B. Moran found that the work remained mining activity because it was inseparable from mineral removal and reclamation…
L.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Processing & Distribution Center, Los Angeles, CA
L.T. (ECAB 13-772): Wage-loss claim denied during paid standby assignment
L.T., a postal processing clerk, had accepted left shoulder injuries and could work within limits set by her physician. While the Postal Service searched for suitable duties, it assigned her to report for paid standby. She declined to remain in the standby area and claimed wage-loss compensation…
L.W. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Hamilton, OH
L.W. (ECAB 13-715): Bladder impairment schedule award denied
L.W., a postal carrier, had an accepted claim for recurrent urinary incontinence and received authorized bladder surgeries. She requested a permanent impairment schedule award after her urologist rated her bladder condition at 29 percent whole person impairment. OWCP denied the award, and the Board…
C.W. and Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Minneapolis, MN
C.W. (ECAB 13-632): Right arm schedule award claim denied
C.W., a poultry inspector, sustained an accepted cervical disc injury in a work-related vehicle accident and later requested a schedule award for right arm impairment. Her surgeon assigned an 11 percent right arm rating but did not explain the impairment, its connection to the accepted injury, or…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.