Griffey v. Town of Hot Springs
Griffey v. Town of Hot Springs
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs appeal is from an Opinion and Award of the North Carolina Industrial Commission denying his claim for benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The appeal has no merit and we affirm the Commission’s decision. The pertinent facts follow:
On or about 28 December 1983 plaintiff appellant, a police officer employed by the defendant Town, filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits alleging that he was injured in the town on 21 March 1982 while struggling with “a suspect,” who he arrested for being drunk and disruptive. His later testimony established that the suspect was Brenda Sue Goforth Ricker. After hearing the evidence in the case Chief Deputy Commissioner McCrodden filed an Opinion and Award dismissing the claim on the ground that it was not filed within two years of the injury by accident, as required by G.S. 97-24. This conclusion was based upon a finding that plaintiff fell and injured his back while attempting to arrest Brenda Ricker in May 1981, rather than in March 1982, as plaintiff claimed. Upon appeal the Full Commission, after receiving additional evidence and adding a finding of fact that “[p]laintiff failed to prove that he sustained any injuries making an arrest in March 1982,” adopted and affirmed the Opinion and Award of the Chief Deputy Commissioner.
First, we note that the conclusion of the Chief Deputy Commissioner, adopted by the Full Commission, that plaintiffs claim was not timely filed, is manifestly erroneous. For plaintiff does not claim that he was injured in May 1981, and he disputes the Commission’s finding to the contrary; his claim, the claim upon which the case is based and which his testimony tends to support, is that he was injured in March 1982 while arresting Brenda Sue
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.