Employed amputee still entitled to benefits despite landing better-paying job
There are two ways a Utah employee may demonstrate the existence of a permanent, totally disabling condition.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Utah has decided that an employed amputee is still entitled to receive permanent disability benefits despite having landed a better-paying full-time position elsewhere.
On July 23, 2012, Wendell Benward was working for Wasatch Electric Dynalectic Company (Wasatch) as part of a team in charge of maintaining a set of electrical lines. The team was moving a pole when Benward saw that the grounded pole was too close to a live power line. He rushed over to help but tripped, twisting his ankle. As he regained footing, electricity jumped to his left arm, and the current passed through his body, exiting through his feet and causing significant injury. He was evacuated from the scene by helicopter and taken to a hospital where doctors determined that his injuries required the amputation of both of his feet. He also suffered second- and third-degree burns over most of his upper body, hearing loss, sleep apnea, tinnitus, meniscus tears in both knees, and memory loss, among other injuries.
Nearly a year later, Benward was able to return to work part-time, but not in the same capacity. He was able to work at Wasatch as a safety manager for a few months then was able to increase his hours to full-time until he was laid off for unrelated reasons. Between his accident and the termination of his part-time employment, Benward was paid nearly $131,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. Eventually, Benward was able to find similar employment as a safety professional at an electrical engineering company. The work was inconsistent, and the wages and benefits are project-dependent, but Benward was able to earn a weekly wage higher than what he earned at Wasatch.
After he was laid off by Wasatch, Benward filed a claim for permanent total disability benefits based on the loss of both of his feet. He asserted in this claim that he was entitled to permanent total disability benefits from the date of the accident for the rest of his life regardless of the fact that he was able to return to work after the accident as a safety manager. Wasatch acknowledged that he met the criteria for permanent total disability under Utah’s workers’ compensation benefits and that he should receive benefits when he was fully or partially unable to work, but it asserted that he was not entitled to permanent total disability benefits once he demonstrated his ability to maintain gainful employment.
An administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled for Wasatch, finding that the injury created only a “presumptive finding” that Benward was permanently and totally disabled, and that presumption was rebutted when he returned to work full-time. The ALJ also found that Wasatch did not have to pay permanent total disability during periods when Benward was gainfully employed.
The appeal
Benward appealed the decision to the Utah Workers’ Compensation Commission, which reversed the finding of the ALJ and held that there were “unique criteria” in the applicable statutes that provided for a final award of permanent total disability without considering interim employment. The commission remanded the case back to the ALJ to return to if the money paid to Benward after the accident was intended to be a substitute for disability compensation, or if it was intended to be regular compensation for the work he had performed. The ALJ found that the wages were legitimate, and the commission confirmed that finding, determining that Wasatch had an ongoing obligation to pay Benward benefits for the rest of his life.
Wasatch appealed, but the Utah Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, noting that Utah law has an exception for workers who have lost eyes or limbs in a workplace accident, and considers such workers as permanently disabled, and entitled to permanent total disability benefits, even if they are able to return to work. The court determined that there was no dispute that Benward met the statutory requirements and that his disability status was final, regardless of whether he worked.
The case is Wasatch Elec. Dynalectric Co. v. Labor Comm’n, 2020 UT App 20.
Editors Note: The applicable statute, Utah Code Ann. §34A-2-413, states that workers’ compensation benefits are only available if the worker proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, six elements; of importance, that he “cannot perform other work that is reasonably available.” Of even more importance, is subsection (9) of the same statutory provision, which asserts that if a worker sustained a catastrophic injury involving the permanent and complete loss of two or more limbs or eyes, a finding of permanent total disability “is final.”
So there are two ways a Utah employee may demonstrate the existence of a permanent, totally disabling condition. First, by meeting the six-prong test described in the statute, or second, by losing two limbs or eyes on the job. If a worker has lost 2+ limbs, he need not meet the six-prong test required for other injured workers.
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