{"id":"alj-H010337-2023-09-15","awcc_number":"H010337","decision_date":"2023-09-15","opinion_type":"alj","claimant_name":"Cynthia Vinson","employer_name":"North Little Rock School District’s Transportation Department","title":"VINSON VS. NORTH LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT’S TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AWCC# H010337 SEPTEMBER 15, 2023","outcome":"dismissed","outcome_keywords":["dismissed:7","granted:1"],"injury_keywords":[],"pdf_url":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/VINSON_CYNTHIA_H010337_20230915.pdf","source_index_url":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-opinions/administrative-law-judge-opinions/","filename":"VINSON_CYNTHIA_H010337_20230915.pdf","text_length":9160,"full_text":"BEFORE THE ARKANSAS WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION \nCLAIM NO.: H010337 \n \n \nCYNTHIA VINSON, \nEMPLOYEE                                                                                                                 CLAIMANT \n \nNORTH LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT’S \nTRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT,   \nEMPLOYER                                                                                                            RESPONDENT                                    \n \nARKANSAS SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION, \nTHIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR                                                                     RESPONDENT  \n                       \n \nOPINION FILED SEPTEMBER 15, 2023   \n \nHearing held before Administrative Law Judge Chandra L. Black, in Little Rock, Pulaski County, \nArkansas. \n \nClaimant, pro se, did not attend the dismissal hearing.  \n \nRespondents  represented  by  the  Honorable  Guy  Alton  Wade,  Attorney  at  Law,  Little  Rock, \nArkansas. \n \n                                                         Statement of the Case      \n \n A hearing was held on September 13, 2023 in the above-referenced case pursuant to Dillard \nv. Benton County Sheriff’s Office, 87 Ark. App. 379, 192 S.W. 3d 287 (2004), for a determination \nof  whether  this  claim  should  be  dismissed  for  failure  to  prosecute  under  the  provisions  of  Ark. \nCode  Ann.  §11-9-702  (Repl.  2012)  and Arkansas Workers’ Compensation  Commission  Rule \n099.13.  \nAppropriate Notice of this hearing was provided to all parties to their last known address, \nin the manner prescribed by law.   \nThe record consists of the transcript of the September 13, 2023, hearing and the documents \nheld  therein.    Specifically,  the  Respondents  offered  one  exhibit  into  evidence,  consisting  of \nnineteen (19) numbered pages.  It was marked Respondents’ Exhibit 1.  Also, the Commission’s \n\nVinson – H010337 \n \n2 \n \nfile has been made a part of the record.  It is hereby incorporated into the September 13, hearing \ntranscript by reference.    \nProcedural History \n On January 6, 2021, the Claimant wrote a letter to the Commission requesting a hearing in \nthe  above-captioned  claim for workers’ compensation benefits.    At  that  time,  the  Claimant  was \nunrepresented.  Therefore, Clerk of the Commission transferred the claim to the Legal Advisors’ \nDivision for a mediation conference.  However, the Claimant failed to participate in the mediation \nprocess.  Therefore, the legal advisor returned the claim to  the Clerk of the Commission for the \nclaim to be assigned to an Administrative Law Judge, which was done. \n Subsequently, the Claimant retained an attorney to represent her in this matter.  Hence, the \nhearing process was started.  On April 28, 2021, a prehearing telephone conference was conducted \nin this case.  At that time, the claim was scheduled for a hearing on the merits for June 30, 2021.   \nHowever, on June 9, 2021, the Claimant’s attorney wrote to the Commission to request that the \nJune 20 hearing be rescheduled due a to personal conflict.  As a result, another full hearing was \nscheduled for July 20, 2021.  The Claimant’s attorney sent an email to the Commission the day \nprior to the hearing stating that there was a discovery issue regarding his client’s average weekly \nwage.  Therefore,  the  Claimant’s  attorney  asked  that  the  July  19  hearing  be  canceled.    Per \nagreement  of  the  parties,  I  canceled  the  full  hearing  and  returned the case to the Commission’s \ngeneral files.   \n Yet, for almost two years, there was no action whatsoever taken on the part of the Claimant \nto  pursue  her  claim for  workers’  compensation  benefits.  However,  on June  28,  2023,  the \nClaimant’s attorney filed a motion to withdraw from  representing  her  in  this  claim.    The  Full \n\nVinson – H010337 \n \n3 \n \nCommission entered an Order on July 11, 2023, granting the motion for the Claimant’s attorney \nto withdraw as her counsel of record in this matter.  \n   Still,  there  was  no  action  taken  by  the  Claimant  to  resolve  her  claim,  and  nor  did  she \nrequest a hearing.   \nTherefore, the Respondents filed a letter-motion with the Commission on July 14, 2023, \nrequesting that the claim be dismissed due to a lack of prosecution.  The Respondents provided \nthe Claimant with a copy of the motion via mail through the United States Postal Service.  \nThe Commission sent a letter to the Claimant on July 20, 2023, giving her a deadline of \ntwenty (20) days to file a written response to the motion with the Commission.  Said letter was \nmailed to the Claimant’s last known address via first-class and certified mail.   \nPer information obtained from the Postal Service, the Claimant picked this correspondence \nup from the Post Office on July 24, 2023.  The return receipt request for proof of delivery bears \nthe Claimant’s signature. \nYet, there has been no response from the Claimant.   \nTherefore, per a Hearing Notice mailed on August 10, 2023, the Commission notified the \nparties that a hearing was scheduled to address the Respondents’ motion to dismiss this claim due \nto  a  lack  of  prosecution.    The  notice  was  sent  to  the  Claimant  via  first-class  and  certified  mail.  \nSaid hearing was scheduled for September 13, 2023, at the Commission in Little Rock, Arkansas.  \nThe  notice  that  the  Commission  sent  to  the  Claimant  via  first-class  mail  has  not  been \nreturned  to  Commission.    Per  delivery  information  received  from  the  Postal  Service  by  the \nCommission on August 14, 2023, the Claimant picked up the notice of hearing from the local Post \nOffice, in North Little Rock that same day.  Thus, my review of the proof of delivery demonstrates \nthat the Claimant signed for the hearing notice.  Hence, it bears her signature.    \n\nVinson – H010337 \n \n4 \n \nNevertheless, there has been no response from the Claimant.  \nSubsequently, a hearing was in fact conducted on the Respondents’ motion for dismissal \nas scheduled.  Yet, the Claimant did not attend the dismissal hearing.  However, the Respondents \nappeared through their attorney.   \nCounsel  stated  the  that the  Claimant  has  had  reasonable  time  to  move  forward  with  this \nclaim, but she has failed to do so.  Therefore, counsel moved that this claim be dismissed due to a \nlack of prosecution. \n        Discussion \nThe record before me proves that the Claimant has failed to promptly prosecute her claim \nfor workers’ compensation benefits.  The Claimant has not requested a hearing since July 2021, \nwhich is more than two (2) years ago.  More importantly, the Claimant did not appear at the hearing \nto object to her claim being dismissed and she has not responded to the notices of this Commission.   \nUnder these circumstances, I am persuaded that the Claimant has abandoned her claim for \nworkers’ compensation benefits.  Accordingly,  I  find  that  the  evidence  preponderates  that  the \nClaimant  has  failed  to  prosecute  her  claim for workers’ compensation benefits in  the  proper \nmanner set forth under the law.  Consequently, per Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-702 and Rule 099.13 of \nthis  Commission,  I  find  that  this  claim  should  be  and  is  hereby  respectfully  dismissed, without \nprejudice, to the refiling of it, within the limitation period specified by law.   \n                            FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW \nOn  the  basis  of  the  record  as  a  whole,  I  hereby  make  the  following  findings  of  fact  and \nconclusions of law per Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-704 (Repl. 2012): \n1.        The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission has jurisdiction of this \nclaim.  \n \n\nVinson – H010337 \n \n5 \n \n2. The Respondents filed with the Commission, a motion for dismissal of this \nclaim due to a lack of prosecution, for which a hearing was held.  \n \n3.  The Claimant did not appear at the hearing.  Moreover, she has not objected \nto her claim being dismissed.    \n \n4. The  Claimant  has  not  requested  a  hearing  since  July  2021.  Hence,  the \nevidence preponderates that the Claimant has failed to timely prosecute her \nclaim for workers’ compensation benefits.      \n \n5. Appropriate Notice of the dismissal hearing was had on all parties to their \nlast  known  address,  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law.    However,  the \nClaimant did not attend the hearing, and she has not objected to the motion \nto dismiss her claim.   \n \n            6. The Respondents’ motion to dismiss this claim for a lack of prosecution is \nhereby respectfully granted, without prejudice, per Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-\n702 and Commission Rule 099.13, to the refiling of it, within the limitation \nperiod specified by law.  \nORDER \nFollowing the findings of fact and conclusions of law set forth above, this claim is hereby \nrespectfully  dismissed  per  Ark.  Code  Ann.  §11-9-702  and  Commission  Rule  099.13, without \nprejudice, to the refiling of it, within the limitation period specified by law.  \nIT IS SO ORDERED. \n \n \n                              _______________________________ \n               HON. CHANDRA L. BLACK \n               Administrative Law Judge","preview":"BEFORE THE ARKANSAS WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION CLAIM NO.: H010337 CYNTHIA VINSON, EMPLOYEE CLAIMANT NORTH LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT’S TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, EMPLOYER RESPONDENT ARKANSAS SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION, THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR RESPONDENT OPINION FILED SEPTEMBER 15, 2023 Hearing held before Admin...","fetched_at":"2026-05-19T23:02:54.394Z","links":{"html":"/opinions/alj-H010337-2023-09-15","pdf":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/VINSON_CYNTHIA_H010337_20230915.pdf","source_publisher":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-opinions/administrative-law-judge-opinions/"}}