In Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission Appeal No. 010852, decided June 6, 2001, the Appeals Panel affirmed findings of fact made by hearing officer following a contested case hearing held in _____________, Texas, on March 14, 2001, that respondent (claimant) did sustain damage or harm to the physical structure of her body in the form of an occupational disease; that she was injured in the course and scope of employment in the form on an occupational disease; that she knew or should have known that her injury may be related to her employment on______________; and that due to the claimed injury she was unable to obtain and retain employment at wages equivalent to her preinjury wage beginning on September 21, 2000, and continuing through the date of the hearing. We remanded for the hearing officer to make further findings concerning the identity of the employer, to correctly apply the law regarding good cause for untimely notice of injury, and to consider the subsumed issue of the employer’s actual knowledge of the injury. In the remand decision, the hearing officer essentially complied with the directions of the Appeals Panel and determined that “the carrier” is relieved from liability under Section 409.002 because the claimant did not have good cause for failure to timely notify “either employer.” The appellant carrier has filed a request for review of certain findings of fact already affirmed in our earlier decision. However, this appeal is conditioned upon the claimant’s filing an appeal. The file does not contain an appeal from either the claimant or respondent Texas Builders Insurance Company nor does the file contain a response from any party.
Finding that the appeal of the appellant carrier was conditioned upon the filing of an appeal by the claimant and that the claimant has not filed an appeal, we dismiss the appellant carrier’s conditional appeal and determine that the decision and order of the hearing officer have become final pursuant to Section 410.169.
Philip F. O’Neill – Appeals Judge
CONCUR:
Susan M. Kelley – Appeals Judge
Robert E. Lang
Appeals Panel
Manager/Judge