ARTURO TAPIA, Petitioner,
v.
TRITON INVESTMENTS, INC. and WORKERS COMPENSATION FUND, Respondents.
No. 19-0869
Utah Workers Compensation Decisions
Utah Labor Commission
November 30, 2020
ORDER
AFFIRMING ALJ’S DECISION
Jaceson R. Maughan, Utah Labor Commissioner.
Triton
Investments, Inc. and its insurance carrier, Workers
Compensation Fund, (collectively referred to as
“Triton”) ask the Utah Labor Commission to review
Administrative Law Judge Decker’s order dismissing
without prejudice Mr. Tapia’s claim for benefits under
the Utah Workers’ Compensation Act, Title 34A, Chapter
2, Utah Code Annotated.
The
Labor Commission exercises jurisdiction over this motion for
review pursuant to §63G-4-301 of the Utah Administrative
Procedures Act and §34A-2-801(4) of the Utah
Workers’ Compensation Act.
BACKGROUND
AND ISSUES PRESENTED
Mr.
Tapia filed an application for hearing claiming
workers’ compensation benefits for an alleged injury he
attributes to an accident on August 22, 2019, while he was
working for Triton. Triton scheduled a medical examination
for Mr. Tapia by its medical consultant, to which he objected
before failing to attend. Judge Decker instructed Mr. Tapia
to comply with the rescheduled examination, but he again
failed to attend.
Triton
then moved to dismiss Mr. Tapia’s claim with prejudice
for failure to attend the medical examination as instructed.
Mr. Tapia responded to Triton’s motion by filing his
own motion for dismissal of his claim without prejudice while
he pursued other causes of action regarding his injured
status. Triton replied by arguing that dismissing Mr.
Tapia’s claim without prejudice would be prejudicial to
Triton in light of the costs it has expended in defending
against the claim.
Judge
Decker determined that Mr. Tapia’s claim should be
dismissed without prejudice because such dismissal was
consistent with a suspension of the claim done in previous
Commission cases. Triton now seeks review of Judge
Decker’s order by reiterating that dismissal of Mr.
Tapia’s claim without prejudice is not appropriate...
