37 Pa. Commw. 237 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1978
Opinion by
The Appellant, Wencil Plouse, appeals here from a dismissal of his petition for additional medical services and of his petitions for reinstatement which sought compensation for the treatment of a back problem. The Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board (Board) affirmed a referee’s dismissal of all petitions on the basis that the Appellant’s back problem was unrelated to and not the result of a prior work-related accident in which he suffered a leg injury and was therefore uncompensable under The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act
The facts indicate that in June of 1970, while he was employed as a floorman with Delta Drilling Com
Our scope of review here, as defined in Section 44 of the Administrative Agency Law,
The law is clear that a petition for additional medical services cannot be granted where there is not a compensable injury upon which it could rest. See Chabotar v. S. Klein Department Store, 26 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 572, 364 A.2d 970 (1976). Here, the Appellant’s disability from the compensable injury suffered in 1970 had been held to be terminated as of March of 1973. There being no compensable injury, therefore, upon which his petition regarding his back problem could rest, we believe that his petition for additional medical services was properly dismissed.
With regard to the Appellant’s reinstatement petition, it is clear that such a petition to reinstate benefits cannot serve the purpose of retrying the issue of the extent of a disability which was previously determined pursuant to a petition to terminate. Hoffman v. Pierce, 13 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 368, 318 A.2d 772 (1974). Although it is true that a compensation agreement and final settlement receipt may be set aside if based upon mistakes of fact which omit mention of an injury, Thatch v. Superior Zinc Co., 4 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 550, 288 A.2d 564 (1972), this is not the case here. The referee conducted numerous hearings regarding the Appellant’s back condition at which several physicians testified, and, although there was a conflict in the testimony, the referee’s finding that the back condition was unrelated to and not the result of the 1970 accident was supported by the tes
The order of the Board dismissing the said petitions is, therefore, affirmed.
Order
And Now, this 15th day of Angnst, 1978, the order of the Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board at Docket No. A-71804, dated December 30, 1976, is hereby affirmed.
Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. §1 et seq.
Act of June 4, 1945, P.L. 1388, as amended, 71 P.S. §1710.1 et seq. Section 427 of The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act, 77 P.S. §876.1, provides that this Court’s scope of review in a workmen’s compensation appeal is that defined in Section 44 of the Administrative Agency Law.
The Board’s opinion notes significantly that the Appellant received a back injury in 1969 while with another employer.