BEACH, J.
The defendants, Lighting Services, Inc. (Lighting Services), and Peerless Insurance Company, appeal from the decision of the workers' compensation review board (board), claiming that the board improperly concluded that the plaintiffs'
The following facts, as found by the workers' compensation commissioner (commissioner), are relevant to this appeal. Zejadin Dauti (decedent) was employed by Lighting Services when, on September 28, 2000, he suffered a fatal heart attack while performing services for his employer at a supermarket in East Hartford.
The commissioner held a formal hearing on November 5 and December 28, 2009, and the record was closed on March 31, 2010. The commissioner issued his ruling on April 28, 2010. On the basis of the evidence before him, the commissioner found that the plaintiffs had failed to file a notice of claim within one year of the decedent's death, thereby failing to meet the requirements of § 31-294c (a) and that they had failed to demonstrate that one of the jurisdictional exceptions in § 31-294c (c) applied. The commissioner concluded, therefore, that the workers' compensation commission (commission) lacked subject matter jurisdiction and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims. The plaintiffs filed a motion to correct the finding and award, which the commissioner denied.
The plaintiffs then, on May 13, 2010, filed a petition for review with the board. On April 25, 2011, the board issued its decision, concluding that the commissioner incorrectly had determined that the commission lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' claims. The board found that the plain meaning of § 31-294c, as construed in its prior decision, Merenski v. Greenwich Hospital Associates, Inc., No. 4292 CRB-7-00-9 (September 12, 2001), provides for a two year time limitation from a worker's death to file claims under § 31-306, which time limitation the plaintiffs met.
The defendants appealed to this court, claiming that the board improperly reversed the commissioner's finding and award, which concluded that the plaintiffs failed to file a notice of claim within the applicable time set forth in § 32-294c (a). We disagree with the defendants and affirm the decision of the board.
The precise issue raised by the defendants in this appeal was considered and
The decision of the workers' compensation review board is affirmed.
In this opinion DUPONT, J., concurred.
LAVINE, J., concurring.
I concur in the majority's result, but I do not believe that General Statutes § 31-294c (a) is clear and unambiguous.
I respectfully suggest that the legislature may wish to clarify the statute by stating, in separate sentences or provisions, the limitation period or periods within which to file claims for an injury that causes a worker to die on the date of the accident, for deaths that occur as a result of the accident but not on the date of the accident and for deaths arising from occupational diseases.
For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully concur.
On appeal, pursuant to Practice Book § 63-4(a)(1), the plaintiffs claim that the board's decision can be affirmed on the alternative ground that the commissioner improperly found that they had failed to meet their burden of proving the medical care exception under § 31-294c (c). The defendants argue, however, that we may not address the plaintiffs' alternative basis to affirm the board's decision because the commissioner did not make the requisite findings of fact and the board failed to consider the exception. We agree with the defendants that the record is inadequate for our review of the plaintiffs' alternative ground to affirm the board's decision. See Practice Book § 61-10.