CALVIN P. ANDERSON, Claimant,
v.
FINLEY ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC, Employer,
and
THE HARTFORD, Insurer.
HF No. 22, 2016/17
South Dakota Workers Compensation
Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation Division of Labor and Management
March 26, 2020
DECISION
Joe
Thronson, Administrative Law Judge.
This is
a workers’ compensation case brought before the South
Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation, Division of
Labor and Management pursuant to SDCL 62-7-12 and ARSD
47:03:01. The case was heard by Joseph Thronson,
Administrative Law Judge, on November 12, 2019, in Pierre,
South Dakota. Claimant, Calvin Anderson, appeared pro se.
Employer, Finley Engineering Company, Inc., and Insurer, The
Hartford, were represented by Richard Travis of May &
Johnson, P.C.
ISSUE
PRESENTED
I.
DOES RES JUDICATA BAR CLAIMANT FROM RECEIVING WORKERS
COMPENSATION BENEFITS IN SOUTH DAKOTA?
II.
HAS CLAIMANT MET HIS BURDEN OF PROVING HIS INJURY REMAINS A
MAJOR CONTRIBUTING CAUSE OF HIS DISABILITY?
FACTS
Claimant,
Calvin P. Anderson suffered a workplace injury on January 19,
2005 while employed by Finley Engineering. Finley is a
company based in North Dakota. At the time of the injury,
Claimant was also a resident of North Dakota. On the date of
injury, Claimant was working near Ipswich, South Dakota as a
field inspector. He slipped on an icy driveway and suffered
an injury to his right shoulder and left hip. Claimant
reported his injury to North Dakota Workforce Safety and
Insurance (WSI), the agency responsible for handling
workers’ compensation cases in that state. WSI accepted
Claimant’s injury as compensable and began paying
benefits for his right shoulder and left hip. WSI continued
to pay Claimant benefits and provide treatment for his
injuries until April 2010 when it sent Claimant notice that
it was discontinuing the payment of benefits for his hip. WSI
determined that Claimant had a preexisting arthritic
condition at the time of his injury and his fall was
therefore not a major contributing cause of his condition. In
June 2010, a rehabilitation specialist hired by WSI noted...
