Holy Cross Hospital of Silver Spring, Inc. v. Nichols

Rodowsky, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This appeal presents a purely legal question under the Maryland Workmen’s Compensation Act (the Act), Md. Code (1957, 1979 Repl. Vol., 1980 Cum. Supp.), Art. 1Ó1, §§ 1 through 102.

It is whether a claimant may seek additional temporary total and permanent partial disability benefits when the petition to reopen the claim is filed within five years from the date of last payment by the employer or insurer of medical benefits on behalf of the claimant, but more than five years after the last payment of disability benefits to the claimant. The Workmen’s Compensation Commission (Commission) concluded that reopening was time barred. On appeal to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, the Commission was reversed. The Court of Special ¹⁵¹ Appeals affirmed the circuit court in an unreported opinion (Holy Cross Hospital of Silver Spring, Inc. et al. v. Nichols, No. 1132, Sept. Term, 1979, decided May 27, 1980).

We granted certiorari. For the reasons hereinafter set forth we believe the Commission was correct and shall reverse the intermediate appellate court. The claimant, Betty Jeanne Nichols (nee Jacobsen), on September 16, 1963 sustained a compensable injury to her bach. In 1964,1965 and 1966 tlhe Commission entered orders either awarding temporary total disability benefits or directing the employer and insurer to pay medical expenses incurred, or both.

By order of duly 6, 1967 an award of compensation for permanent partial disability was made. The claim was reopened at a hearing on November 15, 1971 and by order of December 14, 1971 the Commission (1) "affirmed” its order of July 6, 1967 after finding that the claimant had not sustained any increase in disability; (2) awarded compensation for additional temporary total disability for the period April 22 through July 28,1971; and (3) ordered the employer and insurer to "pay for costs of medical care and expenses and medicines incurred by the claimant as a result of her accidental injury of September 16, 1963;” all subject to the provisions of the Act. By letter to the Commission dated February 21, 1978 the claimant applied to reopen in order to raise two issues. The first related to the nature and extent of disability and the second to the failure of the insurer to pay for medical services, treatment and prosthetic appliances for which bills totaling $980.25 were submitted.

The employer and the insurer raised the issue of whether "the employee’s claim for additional temporary total and permanent partial disability benefits” was barred by limitations. It was stipulated that within the five years immediately preceding the "filing of the request by the claimant that the Commission modify its previous award of disability due to a worsening of her condition, the [claimant] had received medical benefits from the Insurer.” The claimant’s position that limitations on reopening have not run rests exclusively on this stipulated fact. In its order of November 21, 1978 the Commission ¹⁵² directed the employer and insurer to "pay additional medical expenses” of the claimant "in accordance with the Medical Fee Schedule” but found that limitations had run as to additional temporary total and permanent partial disability benefits. Resolution of this limitations issue primarily involves interpretation of those sections of the Act which deal with the time for reopening claims and the obligation of the employer to pay medical expenses, and which define the term "compensation.” Section 40 (c) of the Act furnishes the time limit on which the employer relies.

It states: The powers and jurisdiction of the Commission over each case shall be continuing, and it may, from time to time, make such modifications or changes with respect to former findings or orders with respect thereto as in its opinion may be justified; provided, however, that no modification or change of any award of compensation shall be made by the Commission unless application therefor shall be made to the Commission within five years next following the last payment of compensation. [Emphasis added.[ 1 ] The employer’s obligation to provide medical treatment and services is imposed by § 37 (a) of the Act which states: In addition to the compensation provided for herein the employer shall promptly provide for an injured employee, for such period as the nature of the injury may require, such medical, surgical or other attendance or treatment, nurse and hospital ¹⁵³ services, medicines, crutches, apparatus, artificial hands, arms, feet and legs and other prosthetic appliances as may be required by the Commission, provided, however, that any order or award of the Commission, under this subsection, shall not be construed to reopen any case, or permit any previous award to be changed or modified, except as provided in § 40 (c) and 40 (d) of this article. [Emphasis added.] Under subsection (c) of § 37, the Commission is given power to regulate the fees and other charges for such treatment and services. In A.G. Crunkleton Electric Co. v. Barkdoll, 227 Md. 364 , 177 A.2d 252 (1962) and in Andrews v. Decker, 245 Md. 459 , 226 A.2d 241 (1967) we held that under the statutory predecessor to present § 37 (a), the liability of the employer to furnish medical services and treatment is not subject to a period of limitation. Section 67 (5) of the Act provides a definition. As used in Article 101, " Compensation’ means the money allowance payable to an employee or to his dependents as provided for in this article, and includes funeral benefits provided therein.” (Italics in text.) Simply put, it is the position of the claimant that the term "compensation” in § 40 (c) includes medical benefits, and that she is therefore within the exception referring to § 40 (c) which is found in the proviso clause of § 37 (a).

The employer contends that "compensation” as used in § 40 (c) does not include medical benefits because that reading would place a time limit on the obligation imposed by § 37 (a) to provide medical treatment. In order to determine the legislative intent, we turn initially to the history of the relevant sections. The Workmen’s Compensation Law was first enacted by the Acts of 1914, Chapter 800. In § 62.5, the 1914 enactment set forth the same definition of "compensation” which is presently found in § 67 (5) of the Act. ¹⁵⁴ The time within which an award could be reopened was unlimited under the original Act.

Acts of 1914, Chapter 800, §§ 39, 42 and 53; Ireland v. Shipley, 165 Md. 90, 100-101 , 166 A. 593, 596-97 (1933). Chapter 342 of the Acts of 1931 established the first time limit on reopening. Md. Code (1924), Art. 101, § 54 was amended to provide that no modification "of any final award of compensation” was to be made unless applied for within one year "following the final award of compensation.” Chapter 236 of the Acts of 1935 increased the period to three years "following the last final award of compensation” where the award had been designated as .final, and further provided that, where the award was not so designated, "no additional award ... of compensation” was to be made unless applied for within three years "following the last payment of compensation under such award or awards not designated by the Commission as final.” 2 This reopening section was restructured by Chapter 814 of the Acts of 1957 to its present form, as found in § 40 (c), under which application for modification of "any award of compensation” must be made within a period of time "next following the last payment of compensation.” In the 1957 enactment the time period remained three years. It was increased to five years by Chapter 116 of the Acts of 1969. ¹⁵⁵ Section 37 (a), dealing with medical benefits, was amended to its present form by Chapter 32 of the Acts of 1960.

Amendment of § 37 (a) was initiated by the Governor’s Commission to Study Maryland’s Workmen’s Compensation Laws. That study commission had counseled as follows in its third report (Legislative Council of Maryland, Report to General Assembly of 1960 at 193): We further recommend a change in Section 37 (a) to insure that an injured employee shall receive medical care and prosthetic appliances for as long as the nature of his injury may require them. This amendment is essential in order to remove any uncertainty as to how long an injured employee is entitled to such medical care and so that the provisions of the law requiring claims for compensation and petitions to reopen awards of the Commission within a prescribed time shall not apply to the furnishing of medical care. In other words, the bar of limitations should not be applicable to medical treatment.

Legislation recommended by the study commission had not been enacted in the 1959 session of the General Assembly, and the study commission package of proposed legislation was referred to the Legislative Council. The bill which became Chapter 32 was Legislative Council item No. 35 (6) and was the bill recommended by the study commission. Report to General Assembly of1960, supra, at 123. Set forth below is § 37 (a) as amended by Chapter 32 of the Acts of 1960.

Matter appearing in regular case reflects § 37 (a) as it appeared in the Code of 1957. Italics indicate the amendments proposed by the gubernatorial study commission and by the Legislative Council. Capitals indicate amendment to the bill after its introduction. (a) In addition to the compensation provided for herein the employer shall promptly provide for an ¹⁵⁶ injured employee, for such period as the nature of the injury may require, such medical, surgical or other attendance or treatment, nurse and hospital services, medicines, crutches, apparatus, artificial hands, arms, feet and legs and other prosthetic appliances as may be required by the Commission, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY ORDER OR AWARD OF THE COMMISSION, UNDER THIS SUBSECTION, SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED TO REOPEN ANY CASE, OR PERMIT ANY PREVIOUS AWARD TO BE CHANGED OR MODIFIED, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 40 (C) AND 40 (D) OF THIS ARTICLE.

The concern expressed by the gubernatorial study commission over whether the prescribed time limit on petitions to reopen awards might apply to the furnishing of medical care necessarily reflected that group’s uncertainty whether an application for an order that the employer provide medical care would be construed as an application for a "modification or change of any award of compensation” under § 40 (c) of the Act in the 1957 Code. The obvious concern of the General Assembly, as manifested by the proviso clause attached to Chaper 32 in the course of passage, was that the possible enlargement of the time for obtaining an award of medical benefits should not, in and of itself, enlarge the time for reopening disability issues beyond the time already permitted by §§ 40 (c) and 40 (d). Thus, if prior to Chapter 32, § 40 (c) embraced medical benefits, the policy that there be no time limit on an injured employee obtaining medical benefits would have to rest on the position that the new language inserted by Chapter 32 in § 37 (a) ("for such period as the nature of the injury may require”) controlled over § 40 (c). Further, if prior to Chapter 32, § 40 (c) embraced medical benefits, the effort by the proviso not to enlarge the time for reopening disability awards would be nugatory if effect were given to the exception for the provisions of § 40 (c).

Essentially, it is this latter analysis which the Court of Special Appeals adopted in this case after it concluded that "compensation” in § 40 (c) included medical benefits. ¹⁵⁷ A.G. Crunkleton Electric Co. v. Barkdoll, supra, decided January 23, 1962 demonstrates that the amendment proposed by the study commission was not required to make the receipt of medical benefits free of any time limitation. Barkdoll was injured November 26, 1951 and suffered the loss of both arms. After the maximum benefits allowable for both temporary total and permanent total disability had been paid, and all available medical science techniques had been attempted to rehabilitate Barkdoll, the Commission directed the employer to furnish him necessary nursing service beginning as of June 23, 1960. In opposition it was contended that the Commission was not authorized to award nursing service beyond the period of compensation paid for disability.

The medicals section of the Act, as it stood prior to Chapter 32 of the Acts of 1960, was applicable. In holding that the liability of the employer to furnish free nursing service and treatment was not subject to a period of limitation we reasoned that "we would have to rewrite the statutes so as to provide for a limitation which is not contained therein” and that "in Maryland, no reference whatsoever as to time or amount limitations is provided in the statute” with respect to medical benefits. 227 Md. at 368-69 , 177 A.2d at 254 . We said that the words, "for such period as the nature of the injury may require,” were added to § 37 (a) in order to clarify a doubt as to the length of the period for which care could be required. The fact that the title to Chapter 32 of the Acts of 1960 stated that the bill was " 'to change the period of time for furnishing of medical care’ ” did not show a legislative recognition that the workmen’s compensation law had not previously provided for indefinite medical and nursing care, because a subsequent legislative construction of the meaning of a prior statute is not binding or controlling on the Court. 227 Md. at 369 , 177 A.2d at 255 .

It was implicit in Crunkleton that the 1963 Commission directive to pay for future nursing services resulting from the 1951 accident was not governed by the limitations on reopening which, under Chapter 236 of the Acts of 1935, applied to an "additional award or awards of compensation. . ..” What was implicit in Crunkleton was made ¹⁵⁸ explicit in Andrews v. Decker, supra. That case involved a 1952 accident for which the last payments of medical and temporary total disability benefits were made in January, 1953. In 1964 the claimant was hospitalized. In 1965 he made claim to the Commission solely for medical benefits, which the Commission granted.

However, on appeal, the trial court reversed. It reasoned that the reopening section had not been before this Court in Crunkleton, that is, that the operation