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The Ohio Supreme Court in the recent case of State ex rel Goodwin v. Industrial Commission, 124 Ohio St. 3d 334. (2010) held that a misrepresentation made by an injured worker that the injured worker was not working for a period of time did not justify vacating the entire amount of temporary total disability compensation paid.
In Goodwin the injured worker sustained an injury in 2001. He requested temporary total disability compensation from November 1, 2004 through June 5, 2005 after his claim was additionally allowed for lumbar stenosis. Based on medical evidence submitted from his doctor, the injured worker's requested temporary total disability benefits were granted.
In 2006 the Bureau of Workers' Compensation learned that the injured worker had actually worked for one week at a YMCA in June 2005. The Bureau's investigation unit recommended that the temporary total disability compensation be declared overpaid from March 28, 2005 through July 5, 2005 and also asked for a finding of fraud.
In refusing to vacate the entire period of temporary total disability compensation paid, the Supreme Court of Ohio found that the injured workers' misstatement on the disability form that he was not working, was only material for that short period in which he actually worked. Before that period of employment and after that period of employment no evidence existed that the injured worker engaged in any activity incompatible with his medial restrictions. Therefore, the Supreme Court vacated only that portion of the temporary total disability compensation paid during the period the injured worker was actually employed. In this case, the injured worker only worked thirty-three (33) hours in June of 2005. The Court disagreed with the Bureau of Workers' Compensation's position that a misstatement regarding an injured workers employment status, for a period during which temporary total disability compensation benefits are being paid, should preclude the injured worker from receiving any temporary total disability compensation after March 28, 2005, the date on which he applied for the job.
This case illustrates that an injured worker who mistakenly fills out the disability form (C84) asserting that he or she did not work at all during a period in which temporary total disability benefits is paid, but in fact, he or she did work for a short time, can still receive the temporary total disability benefits for the entire period less the short period of time in which the actual work was performed.
