KATHRYN BENTLEY
v.
RICHMOND CITY SCHOOLS
VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES GROUP S, Insurance Carrier
VACO GROUPS SELF-INSURANCE RISK POOL, Claim Administrator
Jurisdiction Claim No. VA00001498569
Claim Administrator File No. RCSWC276B213238
Virginia In The Workers' Compensation Commission
July 7, 2021
Date
of Injury: July 31,2018
Kathryn Bentley Claimant, pro se. [1]
Jonnell Lilly, Esquire For the Defendants.
REVIEW
on the record by Commissioner Marshall, Commissioner Newman,
and Commissioner Rapaport at Richmond, Virginia.
OPINION
NEWMAN
Commissioner
The
claimant requested review of the Deputy Commissioner's
March 9, 2021 Opinion dismissing her claims with prejudice.
We AFFIRM.
I.
Material Proceedings
The
claimant filed claims on August 13, 2018, March 5, 2019, and
May 29, 2020, alleging injuries sustained on July 31, 2018 to
her back, shoulders, head, elbow, skull and neck. She sought
temporary total disability benefits, permanent partial
disability benefits and an award of medical benefits.
The
matter was set for a September 10, 2020 hearing. Defense
counsel appeared at the hearing, but the claimant did not
appear. The defendants moved to dismiss with prejudice the
claimant's claims. The Deputy Commissioner granted the
requested relief and issued a September 10, 2020 Opinion
dismissing the claims with prejudice. The pro se claimant
requested review of the Opinion asserting that she did not
receive notice of the hearing. She subsequently retained
counsel who filed a Motion for Reconsideration. The Deputy
Commissioner thereafter vacated her September 10, 2020
Opinion in order to hear testimony from the claimant
regarding the circumstances surrounding her failure to appear
at the hearing.
A
December 16, 2020 hearing was convened in which the claimant
testified and submitted evidence to support her assertions
regarding her failure to receive notice of the hearing. The
Deputy Commissioner issued an Opinion on March 9, 2021
dismissing the claims with prejudice.
The
claimant requested review.
II.
Findings of Fact and Rulings of Law
The
claimant testified that prior to the scheduled September 10,
2020 hearing, she called defense counsel's office
indicating that she had not gotten any information about the
time and location of the hearing. She was told she would
receive something in the mail. The claimant testified she did
not receive a hearing notice providing the time and location
of the hearing. She agreed that she did receive the
Pre-Hearing Statement Order which included the day of the
hearing but not its time or location. She wrote the hearing
date...
