Owcp

The meaning of “permanent” appears, at first blush, to be clear. But just as a museum’s permanent collection does not mean the works will stay in the collection for posterity and a permanent hair wave does not last a lifetime, neither does the term permanent necessarily mean forever. The word permanent takes on meaning in context and, in this case, within a statutory framework.

In the context of maritime employment, we consider an issue of first impression in this circuit: whether a partial “permanent” disability may be re-characterized as “temporary” during a period of recuperation. The label we affix does not affect whether the disabled employee is entitled to disability benefits; instead, it determines who pays the benefits — either the employer or the special workers’ compensation fund. We affirm the decision of the Department of Labor’s Benefits Review Board (the “Board”) that an employee who has a permanent partial disability may be reclassified as temporarily totally disabled during a recovery period following surgery.

Background

Deborah Benge, a former employee of Pacific Ship Repair and Fabrication Inc. (“Pacific”), suffered neck and back injuries while…