Schuelke v. Belle Fourche Irrigation District

Summary

The South Dakota Supreme Court held that SDCL 62-7-35.1 barred Darin Schuelke’s workers’ compensation claim because he filed his petition more than three years after the employer’s last payment of benefits. The court rejected Schuelke’s argument that the cumulative trauma doctrine prevented application of the limitations period, explaining that the statute measures time from the last payment of benefits rather than the date of injury. The court affirmed the circuit court’s decision affirming the Department of Labor and Regulation.

Holdings

1. The cumulative trauma doctrine does not prevent application of SDCL 62-7-35.1. The statute applies to any case in which benefits have been paid and bars a claim for additional compensation unless the claimant files a written petition for hearing within three years after the last payment of benefits.
2. The cumulative trauma doctrine concerns the date of injury and does not alter the limitations period in SDCL 62-7-35.1, which is triggered by the last payment of benefits.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the cumulative trauma doctrine prevents application of SDCL 62-7-35.1 to bar a workers' compensation claim for additional benefits.
2. Whether the three-year limitation period under SDCL 62-7-35.1 runs from the date of the last payment of benefits rather than from the legally determined date of injury in a cumulative-trauma case.

Disposition

affirmed