R. Welker v. Premium Transportation Staffing, Inc. (WCAB)

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Robert Welker, : Petitioner : : v. : No. 1191 C.D. 2022 : Argued: September 11, 2023 Premium Transportation Staffing, : Inc. (Workers’ Compensation Appeal : Board), : Respondent :

BEFORE: HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, President Judge HONORABLE MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, Senior Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

MEMORANDUM OPINION BY SENIOR JUDGE LEAVITT FILED: November 30, 2023

Robert L. Welker (Claimant) petitions for this Court’s review of an adjudication of the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Board) that awarded him compensation benefits for a work-related mental injury for a closed period of time. In doing so, the Board affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Judge’s (WCJ) finding that claimant had fully recovered. Claimant asserts that the WCJ did not issue a reasoned decision, and thus, the Board erred. We dismiss the present petition as moot. On October 7, 2016, Claimant filed a claim petition alleging that he sustained a work-related injury in the nature of bilateral middle finger frostbite and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in February of 2015, when the tractor-trailer he was driving caught on fire. Employer filed an answer denying, inter alia, that the truck fire, which was quickly and successfully extinguished, did not constitute an

abnormal working condition for a truck driver. On January 8, 2018, Claimant filed an amended claim petition that withdrew the allegation of a physical injury, leaving only the PTSD claim. The parties agreed to bifurcate the proceeding to separate the question of whether Claimant had been subject to an abnormal working condition from the question of whether he had sustained a disabling injury. By interlocutory order circulated on July 15, 2019, the WCJ determined that the truck fire constituted an abnormal working condition, and the claim petition proceeded to final disposition on the merits. The WCJ found that Claimant sustained a work-related injury on February 5, 2015, in the nature of PTSD, and that this injury disabled Claimant from April 20, 2016, through November 22, 2019. However, the WCJ found Claimant fully recovered as of November 23, 2019. Claimant appealed the WCJ’s decision to terminate his benefits, and the Board affirmed. Claimant then petitioned for this Court’s review, asserting that the WCJ did not explain his reasons for finding Claimant recovered.1 In Premium Transportation Staffing, Inc. v. Robert Welker (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board), ___ A.3d ___ (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 1329 C.D. 2022, filed November 30, 2023), this Court reversed the Board’s adjudication that the truck fire in question constituted an abnormal working condition. As a consequence,

1 Our review determines whether the WCJ’s findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence, whether an error of law was committed, or whether constitutional rights were violated. Phoenixville Hospital v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Shoap), 81 A.3d 830, 838 (Pa. 2013). This Court may not reweigh evidence or witness credibility since the authority to do so rests exclusively with the WCJ. Elk Mountain Ski Resort, Inc. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Tietz, deceased), 114 A.3d 27, 32 n.5 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2015). However, in examining questions of law, the Court’s standard of review is plenary. Donovan v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Academy Medical Realty), 739 A.2d 1156, 1161 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999).

Claimant did not prove that he was eligible for compensation as a result of the February 2015 incident, thereby rendering Claimant’s appeal in this case moot. Accordingly, we dismiss Claimant’s petition for review.

____________________________________________ MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, President Judge Emerita

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Robert Welker, : Petitioner : : v. : No. 1191 C.D. 2022 : Premium Transportation Staffing, : Inc. (Workers’ Compensation Appeal : Board), : Respondent :

ORDER

AND NOW, this 30th day of November, 2023, the petition for review filed by Robert Welker in the above-referenced matter is DISMISSED as moot.

____________________________________________ MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, President Judge Emerita