W.C. No. 4-803-844.Industrial Claim Appeals Office.
January 18, 2011.
FINAL ORDER
The uninsured employer seeks review of an order of Administrative Law Judge Friend (ALJ) dated July 13, 2010 that ordered the employer to pay medical benefits and temporary total disability benefits. The ALJ also ordered the uninsured employer to post a bond with the Division as trustee in lieu of paying the benefits and compensation. We affirm.
A hearing was held on the issues of whether the employer was liable for medical benefits, for temporary total disability, and for penalties for failure to file a first report of injury. Following the hearing the ALJ entered findings of fact that for the purposes of this order may be summarized as follows. The claimant managed the employer’s retail store, which sold cellular telephones, accessories, and services related to the telephones. On July 18, 2009 the claimant sustained an admitted injury when he chased a shoplifter and was struck from behind and rendered unconscious. He received medical treatment that included surgery and was unable to work as a result of the injury from July 19, 2009 to September 30, 2009, when he returned to employment for a different employer.
Based upon his factual findings, the ALJ concluded that the claimant was entitled to temporary total disability benefits and to medical benefits. Accordingly, he ordered the employer to pay those benefits and compensation or, in the alternative, to post a bond in the amount of $48,500 with the Division as trustee.
The employer appealed and the owner makes certain assertions, including that he has been trying to sell his business in order to satisfy the order, that he has attempted without success to settle the matter, and that he seeks to make some arrangement for
Page 2
periodic payments of the bond. However, these assertions provide no basis for us to set aside or otherwise modify the ALJ’s order. Additionally, we note that the employer has not filed a brief in support of the petition to review or provided a transcript of the hearing.
We have limited appellate jurisdiction to review an ALJ’s order. We are permitted to “correct, set aside, or remand any order,” but only on the specified grounds that the findings of fact are not sufficient to permit review, that conflicts in the evidence are not resolved, that the findings of fact are unsupported by the record, that the findings of fact do not support the order, or that the award or denial of benefits is not supported by the applicable law. Section 8-43-301(8), C.R.S.
We have reviewed the order and the limited record provided and we perceive no error. In the absence of a transcript of the hearing we must presume the factual findings to be supported by substantial evidence Nova v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 754 P.2d 800 (Colo. App. 1988). We perceive no legal error or failure of the ALJ to apply the relevant legal standards. Under these circumstances we may not disturb the order.
As noted previously, we have no jurisdiction to facilitate settlement or to effect a compromise, either of the claimant’s claim for compensation or of the employer’s obligation to post the bond ordered by the ALJ. Accordingly, we affirm the ALJ’s order.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the ALJ’s order dated July 13, 2010, is affirmed.
INDUSTRIAL CLAIM APPEALS PANEL
__________________________ John D. Baird
__________________________ Curt Kriksciun
Page 3
EDUARDO DOMINGUEZ, 12701 E ASBURY CIRCLE F-101, AURORA, CO, (Claimant).
SKY COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Attn: ALYSSA YATSKO, ESQ., DENVER, CO, (Employer).
MARRA LEAVITT, LLC, Attn: TERESA A. MARRA, ESQ., WHEAT RIDGE, CO, (For Claimant).
SKY COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Attn: YOUNG CHOI, PRESIDENT, AURORA, CO, (For Respondents).
SKY COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Attn: YOUNG CHOI, DENVER, CO, (Other Party).
Page 1