A Texas appellate court reinstated a worker’s challenge of a determination on the scope of her compensable injuries, finding that a trial judge erred in treating her petition as untimely.
As documented in the appellate court’s Nov. 26 ruling in Galvan v. Hyatt Regency San Antonio, Veronica Galvan worked for the Hyatt Regency San Antonio and suffered injuries at work in August 2020. Hyatt accepted liability for her left shoulder strain and lumbar strain but contested liability for her other alleged conditions.
An administrative law judge found that Ms. Galvan’s compensable injuries did not include the contested injuries, and an appeals panel affirmed.
In March 2022, Ms. Galvan sued Hyatt. “While Galvan’s petition labeled her sole cause of action as ‘breach of contract,’ it appears to challenge the evidence presented at the ALJ hearing,” the appellate court wrote — that the contested injuries arose from a vehicle accident rather than her work-related accident.
Hyatt’s answer generally denied Ms. Galvan’s claims.
A trial judge granted Hyatt’s motion to dismiss. The judge did not rely on any of the grounds Hyatt argued, instead finding that Ms. Galvan’s petition was untimely.
The Court of Appeals for the 4th District of Texas said a party has 45 days from the mailing date of the appeals panel’s decision to file a challenge. The presumed date of mailing is five days after the decision is filed.
The court noted that the panel decision was finalized Feb. 22, 2022, so presumably was mailed Feb. 27, 2022. Ms. Galvan sued March 2, 2022, just eight days later and well within the statutory window.
“Consequently, we find that Galvan’s petition for judicial review was timely filed within the Labor Code’s 45-day window, and the trial court erred in holding otherwise,” the appellate court said.
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