In Sammie Dudley v. Averitt Express, Inc., the injured employee sought medical benefits for an alleged back injury. The employer denied the claim for two reasons – first, the statute of limitations had run, and the claim was time barred; second, the medical evidence was insufficient to support a finding that the alleged injury was work related. The case was presented to an Administrative Judge who agreed with the employer and dismissed the claim. The worker thereafter filed an untimely motion for reconsideration which was denied. The employee then filed an appeal to the Full Commission. Sandy Doty and Robert Stephenson argued that because the employee’s motion for reconsideration was untimely, the appeal was also untimely. The Full Commission agreed with their argument and affirmed the decision of the Administrative Judge dismissing the claim without the necessity of reaching the merits of the claim.
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