State ex rel. Maynard v. Indus. Comm. (2002)

Our plain-English summary of State ex rel. Maynard v. Indus. Comm. (Ohio Supreme Court, December 4, 2002).

Donald E. Maynard had a workers' compensation claim allowed in 1996 for "malignant neoplasm and mesothelioma." In 1997 he applied for permanent total disability compensation but died from his work-related condition before that application was decided. His widow, Marjorie Maynard, asked the Industrial Commission of Ohio for accrued disability compensation and was successful. She then applied for death benefits, which were also granted. The Bureau of Workers' Compensation set her weekly benefit at $458.32, which was 66 2/3 percent of her husband's average weekly wage. She asked for an increase to the statutory maximum of 100 percent of the statewide average weekly wage, which was $521 for the applicable date. The commission denied that request. She then brought an original action in mandamus in the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing that R.C. 4123.59(B) required the higher rate. The court disagreed and denied the writ, relying on its earlier decisions in Zupp v. Youngstown Fire Dept. and State ex rel. Pickrel v. Indus. Comm. Two justices dissented. The opinion does not describe where or how Maynard was exposed to asbestos.

We wrote this summary from the court's opinion with the help of AI. It is not the court's wording, and it is not legal advice. The full opinion is below.

The decision

• Court: Ohio Supreme Court
• Decided: December 4, 2002
• Citation: 97 Ohio St. 3d 263
• Docket: No. 2001-1386
• Stage: Other
• State: Ohio

Outcome. The Ohio Supreme Court denied the widow's request for a writ of mandamus, leaving the Industrial Commission's refusal to raise her weekly death benefit to the statutory maximum in place.

What the court held. Following its earlier decisions in Zupp and Pickrel, the court held that R.C. 4123.59(B) did not entitle the widow to have her weekly death benefit raised to the statutory maximum, so mandamus was denied.

Issues decided: Wrongful Death and Survival, Employer and Contractor Liability, and Workers' Compensation.

The people and their exposure

• Donald E. Maynard: mesothelioma; died

The defendants

• Industrial Commission of Ohio (government)

Amounts in the opinion

• $458.32 (other)

The court's opinion

The text below is Google Scholar's copy of the court's opinion, a public record. Numbers in brackets, such as [*921], mark where each page of the printed reporter begins.

97 Ohio St.3d 263 (2002)

2002-Ohio-6319

THE STATE EX REL. MAYNARD

v.

INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF OHIO.

No. 2001-1386.

Submitted October 15, 2002.

Decided December 4, 2002.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Mark Aalyson, for relator.

Betty D. Montgomery, Attorney General, and Dennis L. Hufstader, Assistant Attorney General, for respondent. Per Curiam.

{¶ 1} Decedent Donald E. Maynard's 1996 workers' compensation claim was allowed for "malignant neoplasm and mesothelioma." In 1997, he filed for permanent total disability compensation ("PTD") but died from his industrial condition before the application was adjudicated.

{¶ 2} Relator Marjorie Maynard, widow-claimant herein, successfully moved respondent Industrial Commission of Ohio for accrued PTD pursuant to R.C. 4123.60. She followed with an application for death benefits under R.C. 4123.59. {¶ 3} That application was also granted, and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation fixed the rate of weekly benefits at $458.32-66 2/3rds percent of decedent's average weekly wage. Widow-claimant sought to have the rate [*264] increased to the statutory maximum of 100 percent of the statewide average weekly wage, which for the applicable date was $521. That motion was denied.

{¶ 4} This cause is now before this court as an original action in mandamus.

{¶ 5} Widow-claimant asserts that R.C. 4123.59(B) requires that her weekly benefit be increased to the statutory maximum. We disagree.

{¶ 6} Pursuant to our decisions in Zupp v. Youngstown Fire Dept. (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 202, 525 N.E.2d 9, and State ex rel. Pickrel v. Indus. Comm. (1989), 43 Ohio St.3d 128, 539 N.E.2d 623, a writ of mandamus is hereby denied. Writ denied.

MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, PFEIFER, COOK and LUNDBERG STRATTON, JJ., concur.

RESNICK, J., dissents.

F.E. SWEENEY, J., dissents and would grant the writ.

ALICE ROBIE RESNICK, J., dissenting.

{¶ 7} I would grant the writ of mandamus.

Sources

• The opinion on Google Scholar
• Ohio asbestos laws
• Ohio asbestos exposure sites