§23-5-15. Appeals from final decisions of board to Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia prior to July 1, 2022; procedure; costs.
(a) As provided in §23-5-8b of this code, the provisions of this section do not apply to any decision issued by the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review after June 30, 2022.
(b) Review of any final decision of the board, including any order of remand, may be prosecuted by either party or by the Insurance Commissioner, other private insurance carriers, and self-insured employers, whichever is applicable, to the Supreme Court of Appeals within 30 days from the date of the final order by filing a petition therefor with the court against the board and the adverse party or parties as respondents. Unless the petition for review is filed within the 30-day period, no appeal or review shall be allowed, such time limitation is a condition of the right to such appeal or review and hence jurisdictional. The clerk of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall notify each of the respondents and the Insurance Commissioner, other private insurance carriers, and self-insured employers, whichever is applicable, of the filing of such petition. The board shall, within 10 days after receipt of the notice, file with the clerk of the court the record of the proceedings had before it, including all the evidence. The court or any judge thereof in vacation may thereupon determine whether or not a review shall be granted. If review is granted to a nonresident of this state, he or she shall be required to execute and file with the clerk before an order or review shall become effective, a bond, with security to be approved by the clerk, conditioned to perform any judgment which may be awarded against him or her. The board may certify to the court and request its decision of any question of law arising upon the record, and withhold its further proceeding in the case, pending the decision of court on the certified question, or until notice that the court has declined to docket the same. If a review is granted or the certified question is docketed for hearing, the clerk shall notify the board and the parties litigant or their attorneys and the Insurance Commissioner, other private insurance carriers, and self-insured employers, whichever is applicable, of that fact by mail. If a review is granted or the certified question docketed, the case shall be heard by the court in the same manner as in other cases, except that neither the record nor briefs need be printed. Every review granted or certified question docketed prior to 30 days before the beginning of the term, shall be placed upon the docket for that term. The Attorney General shall, without extra compensation, represent the board in such cases. The court shall determine the matter brought before it and certify its decision to the board and to the commission. The cost of the proceedings on petition, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, not exceeding $30 to the claimant’s attorney, shall be fixed by the court and taxed against the employer if the latter is unsuccessful. If the claimant, or the commission (in case the latter is the applicant for review) is unsuccessful, the costs, not including attorney’s fees, shall be taxed against the commission, payable out of the Workers’ Compensation Fund, or shall be taxed against the claimant, in the discretion of the court: But there shall be no cost taxed upon a certified question.
(c) In reviewing a decision of the Board of Review, the Supreme Court of Appeals shall consider the record provided by the board and give deference to the board’s findings, reasoning, and conclusions, in accordance with subsections (d) and (e) of this section.
(d) If the decision of the board represents an affirmation of a prior ruling by both the commission and the Office of Judges that was entered on the same issue in the same claim, the decision of the board may be reversed or modified by the Supreme Court of Appeals only if the decision is in clear violation of constitutional or statutory provision, is clearly the result of erroneous conclusions of law, or is based upon the board’s material misstatement or mischaracterization of particular components of the evidentiary record. The court may not conduct a de novo reweighing of the evidentiary record. If the court reverses or modifies a decision of the board pursuant to this subsection, it shall state with specificity the basis for the reversal or modification and the manner in which the decision of the board clearly violated constitutional or statutory provisions, resulted from erroneous conclusions of law, or was based upon the board’s material misstatement or mischaracterization of particular components of the evidentiary record.
(e) If the decision of the board effectively represents a reversal of a prior ruling of either the commission or the Office of Judges that was entered on the same issue in the same claim, the decision of the board may be reversed or modified by the Supreme Court of Appeals only if the decision is in clear violation of constitutional or statutory provisions, is clearly the result of erroneous conclusions of law, or is so clearly wrong based upon the evidentiary record that even when all inferences are resolved in favor of the board’s findings, reasoning, and conclusions, there is insufficient support to sustain the decision. The court may not conduct a de novo reweighing of the evidentiary record. If the court reverses or modifies a decision of the board pursuant to this subsection, it shall state with specificity the basis for the reversal or modification and the manner in which the decision of the board clearly violated constitutional or statutory provisions, resulted from erroneous conclusions of law, or was so clearly wrong based upon the evidentiary record that even when all inferences are resolved in favor of the board’s findings, reasoning, and conclusions, there is insufficient support to sustain the decision.
