State ex rel. Lunsford v. Industrial Commission
Docket: No. 01-15
Court: Ohio Supreme Court; October 17, 2001; Ohio; State Supreme Court
Katy M. Lunsford sustained an industrial injury in 1976, resulting in an allowed workers' compensation claim with an average weekly wage (AWW) set at $88.64, which she did not contest. Over twenty years later, on February 14, 1996, Lunsford petitioned the Industrial Commission of Ohio to reset her AWW to $100.91, claiming a miscalculation by the Bureau of Workers' Compensation in 1976, and sought readjustment of all compensation since her injury. The commission denied her request. Lunsford then filed a mandamus complaint in the Court of Appeals for Franklin County, arguing the commission abused its discretion. The appellate court found the commission had abused its discretion by not considering the readjustment for the two years preceding her motion, but noted that any readjustment before that was barred by a two-year statute of limitations under R.C. 4123.52. The court issued a limited writ directing the commission to determine Lunsford's entitlement to readjustment from February 14, 1994, to February 14, 1996. The case was appealed, and the court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals, aligning with the precedent established in State ex rel. Cobble v. Indus. Comm. The judgment was affirmed with all justices concurring.