This appeal arises pursuant to the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, TEX. LAB. CODE ANN. § 401.001 et seq. (1989 Act). A contested case hearing (CCH) was held on December 6, 1999. The issue at the CCH was what is the respondent’s (claimant) impairment rating (IR). The hearing officer determined that the claimant’s IR is 15% and she is entitled to 45 weeks of impairment income benefits. The respondent (self-insured) appeals, contending that the designated doctor’s third examination, which resulted in valid range of motion (ROM) testing, was not done for a proper reason and within a reasonable time. The self-insured urges that the results of an earlier test be used to determine the claimant’s IR. The claimant responds, rebutting the arguments of the self-insured and urging that the delay before the valid ROM test was not the fault of the claimant. The claimant urges that the hearing officer’s decision be affirmed.
DECISION
A timely appeal not having been filed, the decision and order of the hearing officer have become final pursuant to Section 410.169.
Records of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission (Commission) show that the decision of the hearing officer was signed for by the self-insured’s City 1 representative on December 22, 1999. Under Tex. W.C. Comm’n, 28 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 156.1(a) (Rule 156.1(a)), each carrier shall designate a (City 1) representative to act as agent for receiving notice from the Commission. Section 401.011(27) defines insurance carrier as including a self-insured governmental entity. Under Rule 156.1(c) notice to the carrier’s City 1 representative is notice to the carrier. Therefore, the self-insured received the decision of the hearing officer on December 22, 1999, when its City 1 representative received it, not on December 27, 1999, when it was received by the County H Attorney.
Pursuant to Section 410.202 and Rule 143.3(c), an appeal, to be timely, must be filed or mailed not later than the 15th day after the date of receipt of the hearing officer’s decision. Thus, the last date for the self-insured to timely file an appeal would be Thursday, January 6, 2000. The self-insured’s appeal recites service on the claimant on January 10, 2000, the envelope which contained it shows a postage meter date of January 10, 2000, and the appeal was received by the Commission on January 12, 2000. The appeal is thus untimely.
The appeal being untimely, the jurisdiction of the Appeals Panel was not properly invoked and the decision and order of the hearing officer have become final under Section 410.169.
Tommy W. Lueders – Appeals Judge
CONCUR:
Stark O. Sanders, Jr. – Chief Appeals Judge
Dorian E. Ramirez – Appeals Judge