{"id":"alj-H204111-2023-09-13","awcc_number":"H204111","decision_date":"2023-09-13","opinion_type":"alj","claimant_name":"Peggy Clemons","employer_name":"South County School District","title":"CLEMONS VS. SOUTH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AWCC# H204111 SEPTEMBER 13, 2023","outcome":"dismissed","outcome_keywords":["dismissed:3"],"injury_keywords":["back"],"pdf_url":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads//CLEMONS_PEGGY_H204111_20230913.pdf","source_index_url":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-opinions/administrative-law-judge-opinions/","filename":"CLEMONS_PEGGY_H204111_20230913.pdf","text_length":5615,"full_text":"BEFORE THE ARKANSAS WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION \n \nCLAIM NO. H204111 \n \nPEGGY CLEMONS, EMPLOYEE      CLAIMANT \n \nSOUTH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT,  \nEMPLOYER              RESPONDENT \n \nARKANSAS SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION         RESPONDENT \n \nOPINION AND ORDER FILED SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 \nThe Original Hearing before Administrative Law Judge James D. Kennedy in \nLittle Rock, Arkansas was held on June 27, 2023.  Two previous Orders have \nbeen entered in regard to this matter. \nClaimant is pro se and appeared on her own behalf at the time of the hearing. \nRespondents are represented by Carol Lockard Worley, Attorney-at-Law of \nLittle Rock, Arkansas. \nSTATEMENT OF THE CASE \n A hearing was held in the above-styled matter on June 27th, 2023, in Little Rock, \nArkansas,  on  respondent’s  Motion  to  Dismiss  for  failure  to  prosecute  pursuant  to \nArkansas   Code   Annotated   §11-9-702  and  Rule  099.13  of  the  Arkansas  Workers’ \nCompensation Act.  The claimant filed an AR-C on or about June 6, 2022, contending she \nhad been injured on February 9, 2022, while loading car riders into their cars at the end \nof  a  school  day,  slipping  on  ice,  and  injuring her “foot, ears,  loudly  ringing,  with  upper \nand lower back pain.”   The respondents filed an AR-2 dated June 7, 2022, which provided \nthat  the  claim  was  medical  only.    The  claimant’s  retained  counsel,  Evelyn  Brooks,  of \nFayetteville,  Arkansas,  withdrew  as  the  attorney-of-record  on  August  8,  2022,  after \nobtaining an Order from the Full Commission. \n On or about April 12, 2023, the respondents filed a Motion to Dismiss for Failure \nto Prosecute, contending that the claimant had not sought any type of bona fide hearing \nbefore the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission over the last six (6) months and \n\nCLEMMONS – H204111 \n \n2 \n \nconsequently  the  matter  should  be  dismissed  for  failure  to  prosecute  pursuant  to Rule \n099.13    of   the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation and also pursuant to Ark.  Code  Ann. \n§11-9-702.  There was no record of the claimant filing a response to the Motion to Dismiss \nand the hearing was set for June 27, 2023. \n A  hearing  was  held  on  June  27,  2023,  as  spelled  out  in  a  previous  Order  and \nOpinion dated August 9, 2023.  The claimant appeared pro se at the time of the hearing \nand  the  Motion  to  Dismiss  was  held  in  abeyance  and  the  claimant  was  instructed  to \nappropriately  respond  to  the  Prehearing  Questionnaire  and  any  outstanding  discovery \nwithin twenty (20) days of this Order.  Further, the claimant was instructed to take the \nsteps  as  required  by  the  Arkansas  Workers’  Compensation  Act  that  she  deemed \nappropriate to pursue her claim, which might include obtaining counsel.  Failure to do so \ncould result in a request to renew the Motion to Dismiss and would leave no alternative \nbut to take the appropriate action as spelled out in the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation \nAct. \n In  a  previous  review  of  the  file,  it  appeared  that  the  claimant had  failed  to  file a \nresponse to the Prehearing Questionnaire,  but filed a Preliminary Notice on or about July \n11, 2023.  The claimant has also submitted a number of documents which were assumed \nto  be  evidence  of  her  claim.    These  documents  were  submitted  with  comments and \nhighlights in violation of Commission Rules on admissibility and the claimant was placed \non  notice  that  the  failure  to  submit these  documents  without  comments  and  highlights \nwill  render  these  documents  inadmissible  at  the  time  of  a  hearing.    Additionally,  the \nclaimant  had  withdrawn  her  authorization  for  the  respondents  to  obtain  her  medical \nrecords, as required by the rules of the Commission.  It also appeared that the claimant \n\nCLEMMONS – H204111 \n \n3 \n \nhad been unable or unwilling to obtain representation in this matter in order to assist her \nin pursuing her claim.    \n After a second review of the record, an Interim Order was entered on August 30, \n2023, and the claimant was ordered to submit a medical authorization not limited by time \nand  additionally  file  an  answered  Prehearing  Questionnaire  within  ten  (10)  days  of  the \ndate of this Order and Opinion.  The Order on August 30, 2023, provided that failure to \ntake these actions as required by the Arkansas Workers Compensation Commission could \nresult in this matter being dismissed without prejudice without any further action by the \nrespondents., and the claimant was further instructed that if she intended to pursue her \nclaim to a hearing, she is required to submit any documentary evidence that she intended \nto have admitted into evidence at the time of the hearing without comments or highlights.  \nFailure to take the above action would result in the documents being inadmissible. \n After   the   Interim   Order,   the   claimant   filed   a   Response   to   the   Prehearing \nQuestionnaire  with  the  attached  documents  again  containing  comments  and  highlights \nand filed a medical authorization that was limited by time to only three (3) months.   \nORDER \n Pursuant  to  the  above  statement  of  the  case,  and  the  previous  issues  that  have \narose  in  this  matter  along  with  the  previous  Order  and  Interim  Order,  it  is  found  that \nthere is no alternative but to grant the Motion to Dismiss without prejudice. \nIT IS SO ORDERED. \n                \n      ____________________________ \n                JAMES D. KENNEDY \n               ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE     \n   \n\nCLEMMONS – H204111 \n \n4","preview":"BEFORE THE ARKANSAS WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION CLAIM NO. H204111 PEGGY CLEMONS, EMPLOYEE CLAIMANT SOUTH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, EMPLOYER RESPONDENT ARKANSAS SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION RESPONDENT OPINION AND ORDER FILED SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 The Original Hearing before Administrative Law Judge James D. Kennedy in Litt...","fetched_at":"2026-05-19T23:02:45.889Z","links":{"html":"/opinions/alj-H204111-2023-09-13","pdf":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads//CLEMONS_PEGGY_H204111_20230913.pdf","source_publisher":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-opinions/administrative-law-judge-opinions/"}}