Cypress v. City of Charleston

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR. THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA In The Court of Appeals Jerry Cypress, Appellant, v. City of Charleston, Respondent. Appeal From Richland County Appellate Panel, Workers Compensation Commission Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-366 Submitted April 1, 2011 – Filed July 12, 2011 APPEAL DISMISSED Rhonda R. Jennings, of Charleston and Stephen B. Samuels, of Columbia, for Appellant. Johnnie W. Baxley, III, of Mount Pleasant, for Respondent. PER CURIAM: Jerry Cypress (Cypress) appeals the Workers' Compensation Commission Appellate Panel's (Appellate Panel) decision to reverse and remand the Workers' Compensation Single Commissioner's (Single Commissioner) order. Specifically, Cypress argues the Appellate Panel erred in (1) finding he failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his depression was causally related to his heat exhaustion incident on August 4, 2007; (2) reversing the Single Commissioner's award that his claim was compensable as a scheduled member pursuant to section 42-9-30 of the South Carolina Code (Supp. 2010); and (3) remanding the issue of whether Cypress sustained wage loss under section 42-9-20 of the South Carolina Code (Supp. 2010). We dismiss the appeal.[1] Cypress, a firefighter with the City of Charleston, collapsed after suffering from heat exhaustion during a training exercise on August 4, 2007. Cypress subsequently filed a Form 50. The Single Commissioner found Cypress suffered a "14% permanent partial disability of the whole person" and awarded him workers' compensation benefits pursuant to section 42-9-30. The Appellate Panel reversed and remanded the order of the Single Commissioner. The Appellate Panel held a "whole person" disability is not an enumerated scheduled member under section 42-9-30, and as a result, the Single Commissioner's order was affected by an error of law. The Appellate Panel remanded the issue of whether Cypress sustained wage loss under section 42-9-20 to the Single Commissioner. Because the Appellate Panel reversed and remanded the Single Commissioner's order for further proceedings on the merits, we dismiss this appeal as not immediately appealable. Long v. Sealed Air Corp., 391 S.C. 483, 487, 706 S.E.2d 34, 36 (Ct. App. 2011) (holding circuit court's order which remanded a workers' compensation order to the Appellate Panel for further proceedings was not immediately appealable). However, the order may be appealed after final judgment. APPEAL DISMISSED. WILLIAMS, GEATHERS, and LOCKEMY, JJ., concur. [1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.