Casino worker's delay blocks controversion petition

The Mississippi statute of limitations for petition to controvert applies when there has been no payment of disability income benefits or nonburial death benefits.

Case name: Pearson v. Lighthouse Point Casino, No. 2009-WC-00908-COA (Miss. Ct. App. 06/08/10).

Ruling: The Mississippi Court of Appeals held that an employee's petition to controvert filed more than two years after her injury and last medical treatment was barred by the statute of limitations.

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What it means: The Mississippi statute of limitations for petition to controvert is two years and runs from the time of injury. The statute of limitations applies when there has been no payment of disability income benefits or nonburial death benefits.

Summary: A casino employee injured her head, neck, upper back and shoulders when a large piece of glass fell from the top of a slot machine. The casino paid for her visits to a hospital and medical clinic but did not pay for her visit to a chiropractor. The casino also did not pay temporary total disability benefits. More than two years after her injury, the employee filed a petition to controvert. The Mississippi Court of Appeals held that the two-year statute of limitations barred the employee's petition to controvert.

The employee argued that she was entitled to disability benefits and medical treatment for the two years after her injury. Since the employee did not file her petition to controvert for more than two years after her last medical treatment and she did not receive disability benefits, the court ruled that the two-year statute of limitations applied and barred her suit.

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September 13, 2010

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