AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

An employee of Concrete Inc. sustained a neck injury on July 14, 1994, while lifting the hood of a truck as part of his job duties. The hood, weighing approximately 80 pounds, locked due to attached mud flaps, causing the employee to feel a sharp pain in his neck. The pain subsided shortly after, and the employee did not formally report the incident to his employer. Over the following days, the employee experienced worsening symptoms, including arm pain and numbness, which he did not initially associate with the hood incident. A herniated disk was later diagnosed, requiring surgery (paras 2-4).

Procedural History

• Workers' Compensation Administration: The workers' compensation judge determined that the employee suffered a latent injury and provided timely notice of the injury to the employer within the statutory period (paras 5, 22).

Parties' Submissions

• Employer/Appellant: Argued that the employee failed to provide timely notice of the accident within 15 days as required by NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-29(A). They contended that the injury was not latent and should have been reported immediately after the hood incident (paras 1, 7).
• Employee/Appellee: Claimed that the injury was latent and that he provided notice within 15 days of discovering the compensable nature of the injury. He also argued that the employer had actual knowledge of the incident on the day it occurred (paras 5, 21).

Legal Issues

• Whether the employee provided timely notice of the injury under NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-29(A) (paras 1, 7).
• Whether the employee's injury constituted a latent injury, thereby tolling the statutory notice period (paras 7, 19).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals affirmed the workers' compensation judge's decision, holding that the employee provided timely notice of a latent injury (paras 22-23).

Reasons

Per Apodaca CJ. (Flores and Bosson JJ. concurring):

The Court interpreted NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-29(A), to allow notice of an accident within 15 days after the worker knew or should have known, through reasonable diligence, of a compensable injury. The Court rejected the employer's argument that notice must be given within 15 days of the incident, regardless of whether the injury was apparent. It reasoned that requiring notice of every workplace incident, even without an evident injury, would lead to absurd results and contradict the purpose of the Workers' Compensation Act (paras 8-18).

The Court found substantial evidence supporting the workers' compensation judge's determination that the employee's injury was latent. Testimony from the employee and his wife indicated that he did not experience significant neck pain after the initial incident and did not connect his symptoms to the hood incident until his second medical consultation on August 17, 1994. The Court concluded that the employee provided timely notice on August 29, 1994, within 15 days of discovering the compensable nature of his injury (paras 19-20).