WORKERS COMPENSATION - Estoppel: Journey Operating, LLC v. Zurich American Insurance Company (COA 11/6/2009)

Journey Operating, LLC v. Zurich American Insurance Company
2009-CA-000279 11/06/09 2009 WL 3673007

Opinion by Senior Judge Lambert; Judges Clayton and Thompson concurred. The Court reversed an opinion and order of the Workers’ Compensation Board reversing a decision by the Chief Administrative Law Judge reopening a final decision and finding that an insurer was estopped from terminating benefits. The Court held that KRS 342.125 provided authority for reopening to protect the verity of the administrative proceeding. The Court distinguished the holding in Custard Ins. Adjusters, Inc. v. Aldridge, 57 S.W.3d 284 (Ky. 2001), as this was not simply an attempt to enforce the prior judgment but was necessary to determine whether the insurer had committed constructive fraud in the original proceeding.