Ex-fireman backed on workers' comp

Court rules Jacksonville owes more

The city should pay additional workers' compensation benefits to a Jacksonville firefighter who received a brain injury when he was hit on duty by a van, the Arkansas Court of Appeals said Wednesday.

The court overturned a January decision by the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission, which awarded a claim to now-retired firefighter Jason Bowmaster for impairments in his legs, pelvis and shoulder.

But Bowmaster's head injuries developed into behavioral changes and dysphasia, a speech impairment, that also should be considered among his impairments, his lawyer argued.

Bowmaster and a police officer were seriously injured in March 2012 when a man intentionally drove a van into emergency personnel at the scene of a crash involving the man's mother.

The crash also killed Bowmaster's colleague, Capt. Donald Jones. Bryce Allen Jr. was convicted in 2014 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 70 years in prison.

According to court filings, Bowmaster spent more than six weeks in the hospital, where he received evaluations by at least four doctors who gave differing accounts of his injuries.

Unable to rejoin the force, Bowmaster began receiving disability-retirement benefits but had trouble finding new jobs that matched his qualifications, according to court briefs.

In an appeal of the commission's ruling, Bowmaster's attorney, Aaron Martin, argued that the former firefighter should be allowed to receive workers' compensation benefits in addition to the full amount of his disability-retirement benefits.

However, the court ruled that state law allows the city to offset the amount Bowmaster receives from his retirement-disability benefits from its workers' compensation payments.

"The offset issue is a big issue because it would mean a lot more money for the Bowmaster family, which is in need of help at this point," Martin said in an interview.

Katie Bodenhamer, an attorney for Jacksonville and the Arkansas Municipal League, expressed satisfaction with the court's ruling.

At Allen's trial, Bowmaster testified that he had no recollection of the day of the crash. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Bowmaster walked with a limp and spoke in a "soft, stammering voice." The firefighter told the jury he had nerve damage, according to the newspaper.

Both the city and Bowmaster disputed the original findings by a commission administrative law judge, who based Bowmaster's partial impairment on a doctor's report noting behavioral impairment and dysphasia. Bowmaster argued he was fully impaired, while the city said the judge overstated the impairment.

The judge's decision was appealed to the commission, which assessed a lower level of impairment that did not include brain injuries.

Court of Appeals Judge Phillip Whiteaker said in the court's opinion that the commission acted beyond its authority by not including brain injuries in its assessment, because the city had failed to make clear that it denied such injuries existed.

The ruling sent the case back to the commission to re-examine the extent of Bowmaster's impairment and to determine the amount of compensation for which he is eligible.

Metro on 12/01/2016

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