Yes, But what have you done lately?
The Supreme Court takes another look at Voluntary Abandonment
State ex rel. Corman v. Allied Holdings Inc., Slip Opinion No. 2012-Ohio-2579
Claimant, Corman retired from Allied Holdings, Inc. one year after his 2002 injury and never worked again. The record contains no evidence that he was medically incapable of other work. The court deemed his failure to seek other work in the years after he retired demonstrated his permanent abandonment of the labor market.
In defending against a new period of temporary total compensation, employers must look at the claimant’s actions following a separation. In State ex rel. Pierron v. Indus. Comm. 120 Ohio St.3d 40 the Court found the separation event was an elimination of his position; however because he sought no work after the separation he cannot credibly alleged that loss of wages was as a result of the injury. The plus side to this analysis, is that it changes the focus from the employer’s separating event to what has the claimant done to become re-employed.