Williams v. United Parcel Services

Summary

The Nevada Supreme Court held that an employee is “off work” under NRS 616C.390(5) when the employee misses any amount of work as a result of an industrial injury, without a minimum five-day requirement. Because Joseph Williams missed the remainder of his work shift pursuant to his treating physician’s instructions, the one-year limitation on reopening a workers’ compensation claim did not bar his application. The court reversed the district court and remanded for further proceedings concerning whether the claim could be reopened under NRS 616C.390(1).

Holdings

1. NRS 616C.390(5) does not require an employee to miss a minimum number of days of work to be considered 'off work as a result of the injury.'
2. Williams was 'off work as a result of his injury' because he missed the remainder of his scheduled shift pursuant to his treating physician's instruction, and therefore the one-year limitation in NRS 616C.390(5) did not bar his application to reopen the claim.
3. The court would not decide whether Williams presented sufficient evidence under NRS 616C.390(1) because the appeals officer had not reached that issue; the matter must first be addressed by the appeals officer.

Questions Presented

1. Whether NRS 616C.390(5) requires an injured employee to miss at least five days of work, or receive permanent partial disability benefits, to be considered 'off work' and avoid the statute's one-year limit for reopening a workers' compensation claim.
2. Whether Williams was 'off work as a result of the injury' under NRS 616C.390(5) when he missed the remainder of his scheduled shift pursuant to his treating physician's order.
3. Whether the court could decide whether Williams presented sufficient evidence to reopen his claim under NRS 616C.390(1) when the appeals officer had not addressed that issue.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded