Radzikowski v. Public Service Co-Ordinated Transport
Radzikowski v. Public Service Co-Ordinated Transport
Opinion of the Court
This writ brings up an order by Deputy Commissioner Stahl of the compensation bureau, dated November 14th, 1935, denying a motion to dismiss a petition for increased com
In October, 1935, however, a further petition was filed by a different attorney, reporting the prior payments. The employer moved to dismiss it on the ground “that there has been a full and final determination in this matter, and that the entry of the judgment, according to the determination in said case, was to be a full payment of all compensation due the petitioner by reason of the accident * * * and that for that reason the workmen’s compensation bureau does not have jurisdiction to entertain a further petition for compensation on the part of the petitioner.” Deputy Commissioner
It is expressly conceded by prosecutor that this is not a ease of “compromise agreement” nor a case of “final closeout agreed to by the parties and submitted to the bureau for approval.” The claim, as we understand it, is that because the bureau at a formal hearing, when entering a formal judgment, included in the rule a clause or clauses that the judgment should be in full payment of all compensation due the petitioner, this in effect is a bar and estoppel to a further petition within the statutory period claiming an increase of disability. We cannot subscribe to this view. Apart from the conditions obtaining in case of settlement by the parties, and approved thereof by the commissioner based on evidence and carried into the judgment record, the finality of a judgment resulting from litigation is determined by the law and not by act of the court pronouncing it. The law in this class of cases is statutory so far as a claim of increased disability is concerned; and it contemplates a further hearing within specified time limits, on a claim of increased disability, where the original judgment is not the result of a settlement approved by the bureau after taking suitable evidence. The subject is fully discussed in the very recent case of Tucker v. Frank J. Beltramo, Inc., 117 N. J. L. 72, particularly (at pp. 78, 79); 186 Atl. Rep. 821, where other cases are cited. We see no indications of a settlement in the present case, notwithstanding that the rule for judgment was “approved as to form” by the attorneys.
The writ will be dismissed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.