Hawaii Supreme Court says statute of limitations bars reopening 26-year-old claim

The Hawaii Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the eight-year period for reopening a workers compensation claim is a statute of limitations, and an employer bears the burden of proof that an application to reopen was untimely.

Richard Webb was working for OSF International Inc. when he suffered injuries to his back and hip at work in April 1999. He settled his workers compensation claim with OSF in May 2002. The director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Disability Compensation Division signed off on the deal, which provided for a lump-sum payment of $17,936.64 based on a 12% permanent partial disability and obligated OSF to continue to provide medical care, according to Webb v. OSF International Inc.

Mr. Webb, who had received further treatment in 2005, applied to reopen his workers compensation claim in May 2017. The insurer contested the application, asserting it was time-barred. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Disability Compensation Division director denied the application, as did the division’s appeals board and later, the Intermediate Court of Appeals.

The Hawaii Supreme Court said an application to reopen a claim is statutorily required to be made “prior to eight years after date of the last payment of compensation” and the record shows that the insurer made its last payment in 2005. Mr. Webb’s application, filed nearly 12 years later, was, therefore, untimely, the court said.

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