Doble v. Jesco, Inc.

OPINION PAGE, Justice. The Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals reversed an award of temporary partial compensation. We reverse and remand. Anthony Doble sustained a compensable left ankle injury on January 11, 1990, while employed by Jesco, Inc. as a construction laborer. He eventually returned to work for Jesco; but in July 1991, Jesco laid off a “lot of’ workers, including Doble, for economic reasons. Through rehabilitation efforts, Do-ble found permanent work at Advantek, Inc. in Eden Prairie, at a reduced wage. The compensation judge ordered payment of temporary partial benefits calculated on the difference between Doble’s pre-injury wages at Jesco and his post-injury wages at Advantek. Jeseo/Crum & Forster appealed to the WCCA, challenging the findings pertaining to pre-injury and post-injury wages. Doble’s counsel acknowledged there had been a mistake as to pre-injury wages, and he also asked to have the matter remanded for additional evidence pertaining to post-injury wages. The WCCA reversed the award of benefits and denied the request for a remand, deciding “that it would establish an extremely bad precedent to permit any litigant to reopen or retry a case by presenting additional evidence which they failed to present at the original hearing.” Doble v. Jesco, Inc., — Workers’ Comp. Dec. - (WCCA, filed December 6, 1994). The WCCA has discretion to remand a matter for further proceedings. Bergeson v. U.S. Fidelity and Guar. Co., 414 N.W.2d 724, 729 (Minn.1987); Minn.Stat. § 176.421, subd. 6(5) (1992). In addition, where the primary purpose of the Act is to assure compensation proportionate to an employee’s disability, a party may petition the WCCA, at any time, for modification of an award based on a mistake in computation. See, e.g., LaValle v. City of Circle Pines, 358 N.W.2d 652 (Minn.1985); Minn.Stat. § 176.-461 (1992). Certainly the concerns of the WCCA as to piecemeal litigation are understandable; but in this case, where a recalculation of the compensation award is necessary in that the original award was based on a mistake in the pre-injury wage, there seems to be no significant burden on the system or undue delay in allowing the new calculation to be made on additional evidence as to post-injury wages. Where the evidence is neither conclusive nor satisfactory, a remand may be appropriate. E.g., Mitchell v. White Castle Systems, Inc., 290 N.W.2d 753 (Minn.1980); Schulte v. C.H. Peterson Construction Co., 278 Minn. 79 , 153 N.W.2d 130 (1967). Therefore, we reverse the decision of the WCCA and remand the matter to the Office of Administrative Hearings for further proceedings. Reversed and remanded.