59 Pa. Commw. 96 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1981
Opinion by
This is an appeal from an order of the Workmen’s Compensation Board of Beview (Board) which affirmed a referee’s order which officially acknowledged the withdrawal of a petition to modify a Notice of Compensation Payable filed by the appellee, Catalytic, Inc., (Catalytic)'. We affirm.
On August 18,1975 Joseph Piacine (claimant) was injured in an industrial accident while working as a welder for Catalytic. Thereafter, Catalytic began to pay claimant maximum total disability benefits pursuant to a Notice of Compensation Payable executed
On September 18, 1978 claimant’s counsel filed a “Supplemental Answer to the Modification Petition” which alleged (1) that the parties had agreed to resolve their dispute by submitting a stipulation of facts, (2) that claimant’s widow should be substituted in the proceedings, and (3) that claimant’s widow was entitled to her husband’s specific loss compensation benefits pursuant to Section 306(g) of the Act, 77 P.S. §541. Shortly thereafter, Catalytic informed the referee that it was withdrawing its modification petition because of claimant’s death.
Before this Court the claimant alleges that the referee abused his discretion in permitting the withdrawal of the modification petition. We disagree.
In our view, it is axiomatic that a petitioner may withdraw his petition at any time prior to the entry of the referee’s final order, and petitioner, in his brief, has not cited any case law or advanced any reasoning to the contrary. While petitioner correctly notes that the referee would have been bound by the stipulation of facts in reaching his ultimate conclusions of law, Klingler v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 50 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 335, 413 A.2d 432 (1980); Guzik v. Laurel Ridge Construction Co., 196 Pa. Superior Ct. 586, 176 A.2d 183 (1961), in the present case Catalytic withdrew its petition before the referee’s ultimate disposition of the case. Hence, we believe the referee correctly marked the file as closed.
Petitioner has also alleged in his brief that the referee should have treated his modified answer as an original claim petition, filed by claimant’s widow, for benefits under Section 306(g) of the Act. Section 306 (g) of the Act, however, only permits widows to collect benefits if their husbands were receiving compensation for a specific loss under Section 306(c) of the
Accordingly, we enter tbe following
Order
And Now, April 30, 1981, tbe order of tbe Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board dated June 15, 1979, Docket No. A-76554, is affirmed.
Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. §1 et seq.