In Auqui v. Seven Thirty One Limited Partnership,1 dated Feb. 14, 2013, the Court of Appeals held that a Workers’ Compensation Board’s (WCB) determination regarding the duration of an injured worker’s disability was a factual determination that "should be given preclusive effect…relevant to lost earnings and compensation for medical expenses" in the claimant/plaintiff’s third-party tort action. This is a further expansion of the doctrine of collateral estoppel that has broad implications for claimants, insurance carriers, employers and defendants involved in Workers’ Compensation (WC) claims where a companion third-party tort action has been brought.
The ‘Auqui’ Case
Jose Verdugo was a food deliveryman who was struck by a piece of plywood that fell from a construction site in 2003. The WCB found him to be disabled on Dec. 24, 2003. Subsequently, an administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that Verdugo was no longer disabled as of Jan. 24, 2006. A full panel of the WCB affirmed the decision of the ALJ.
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