UNLIKE AN APPLICATION FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW JUDGE’S (WCLJ’S) DECISION, WHICH HAS A 30-DAY TIME LIMIT, AN APPLICATION FOR A REHEARING OR TO REOPEN A CLAIM MUST BE MADE IN A REASONABLE TIME (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined the Workers’ Compensation Board applied the wrong criteria to claimant’s attempt to reopen her claim or seek a rehearing:

We agree with claimant that the Board applied the incorrect statutory framework in evaluating her application. Although a party seeking administrative review of a WCLJ decision must file a written application for review with the Board within 30 days of the filing of the decision (see Workers’ Compensation Law § 23; 12 NYCRR 300.13 [a] [1]; [b] [3] [i]…), there is no statutorily-prescribed time period in which a claimant may seek rehearing or reopening of a claim; rather, the Board must determine if such application was made within a reasonable time after the claimant had knowledge of the facts constituting the grounds upon which the application is made (see 12 NYCRR 300.14 [b]…). Here, the Board did not assess whether claimant’s application was made within a reasonable time. Accordingly, the decision is reversed and the matter is remitted to the Board to evaluate claimant’s application as one for rehearing or reopening. Matter of Villagra v Sunrise Senior Living Mgt., 2019 NY Slip Op 00169, Third Dept 1-10-19