Latonya Covington v. Ford Motor Company (Ktp) ( 2021 )

RENDERED: APRIL 16, 2021; 10:00 A.M.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Court of Appeals
NO. 2020-CA-1111-WC
LATONYA COVINGTON APPELLANT
PETITION FOR REVIEW OF A DECISION
v. OF THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD
ACTION NO. WC-19-00189
FORD MOTOR COMPANY (KTP);
HON. ROARK S. GRANT,
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE;
AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
BOARD APPELLEES
OPINION
AFFIRMING
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BEFORE: ACREE, MCNEILL, AND L. THOMPSON, JUDGES.
ACREE, JUDGE: Latonya Covington appeals the Workers’ Compensation
Board’s (the Board) August 14, 2020 opinion. She believes the Board and the
administrative law judge (ALJ), misconstrued the statute of limitations and
improperly dismissed her claim. Finding no error, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
Covington worked for Ford Motor Company as an assembly line
worker beginning in 2003 and as an inspector beginning in 2009. Her job required
her to move vehicles into a station, plug a device into each vehicle, and perform
various tests. She tested 17 to 18 vehicles every hour. Sometime in 2012 or 2013,
her left hand started bothering her. She went to the doctor who diagnosed her as
having carpal tunnel syndrome from work-related activities. After being
diagnosed, Covington continued working, but needed treatment to her hand.1 Her
symptoms never fully went away. This treatment continued until 2017, when she
was cleared to have surgery.
After her surgery, Ford assigned her to light duty, and allowed her to
perform only light duty when her symptoms flared. At present, Covington still
experiences numbness and burning in her left hand, has not regained full range of
motion and she has weakness in her left hand. Covington claims these symptoms
affected not just her work, but her daily life as well.
Ford paid all Covington’s medical bills and modified and
accommodated her work as an inspector. However, she is currently looking for
other jobs that would not be as strenuous to her arms and hands. Because of her
injury, Covington filed a Form 101 on February 19, 2019, alleging injury to her left
1
Her treatment included physical therapy and injections.
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hand and left thumb that became occupationally disabling after her surgery in
2017. Ford denied Covington’s claims, stating she was barred from recovery
under the requisite statute of limitations.
The ALJ entered an opinion and order on April 6, 2020, dismissing
Covington’s claim for failure to file within the statute of limitations in KRS2
342.185. The ALJ found Covington’s carpal tunnel injury manifested on January
21, 2013, when the doctor informed her the condition was work-related. Given
that she continued working, the ALJ concluded Covington could not present any
evidence that her current condition or impairment rating was caused by cumulative
trauma arising from work-related activity between her 2017 surgery and the date
she filed her claim.
Covington appealed the ALJ’s order to the Board. The Board
affirmed the order as it pertained to the statute of limitations. It stated, “As noted
by the ALJ, there is absolutely no evidence in the record establishing Covington
sustained a work-related left wrist injury within the two years prior to the filing of
her claim.” It went on to say, “Because we find the ALJ did not err in determining
Covington failed to prove she sustained a left hand or wrist injury within the two
years prior to the filing of her claim, we affirm his decision dismissing that portion
of her claim as untimely filed.”
2
Kentucky Revised Statutes.
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This appeal followed.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Because this case involves statutory interpretation, our review is de
novo. Saint Joseph Hosp. v. Frye, 415 S.W.3d 631, 632 (Ky. 2013).
ANALYSIS
KRS 342.185(1) provides for a two-year period of limitations that
begins to run upon the date of the work-related, injury-causing event. As to a
cumulative trauma injury, the Kentucky Supreme Court recognizes that these are
“gradual injuries [that] often occur imperceptibly” over a period of time. American
Printing House for the Blind v. Brown, 142 S.W.3d 145, 148 (Ky. 2004). As a
gradual injury, the date of such injury for notice and for statute of limitations
purposes is when the claimant was informed by a medical professional that she
suffered from a work-related cumulative injury. Id.; Hill v. Sextet Mining Corp.,
65 S.W.3d 503, 507 (Ky. 2001).
Under KRS 342.185, the date of injury in a cumulative trauma claim
is when a medical professional tells the claimant a condition is work-related.
“Thus, for cumulative trauma injuries, the obligation to provide notice arises and
the statute of limitations does not begin to run until a claimant is advised by a
physician that he has a work-related condition.” Consol of Kentucky, Inc. v.
Goodgame, 479 S.W.3d 78, 82 (Ky. 2015); see also Hill, 65 S.W.3d at 507. Here,
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the doctor informed Covington of her injury in January of 2013. Therefore, the
statute of limitations period expired in 2015.
However, Covington contends the limitations period was extended
under KRS 342.185(1) because Ford paid her TTD benefits subsequent to her
February 28, 2017 surgery. However, this payment does not revive her claim.
The Kentucky Supreme Court opined in Holbrook v. Lexmark
International Group, Inc., that payment of benefits more than two years after an
injury does not revive a claim. 65 S.W.3d 908, 913 (Ky. 2001). Therefore,
Covington is unable to revive her claim merely because Ford decided to, and did,
pay her TTD benefits.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the Board’s August 14, 2020
opinion dismissing Covington’s claim.
ALL CONCUR.
BRIEF FOR APPELLANT: BRIEF FOR APPELLEE FORD
MOTOR COMPANY (KTP):
Nicholas Murphy
Louisville, Kentucky Joshua W. Davis
Priscilla C. Page
Louisville, Kentucky
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