Absent fraud, deception, duress, mutual mistake or unilateral mistake caused by the opposing party, a Compromise and Release Agreement cannot be set aside.

The claimant filed a claim petition pro se, alleging he sustained a work-related traumatic hearing loss. Eventually, and with the assistance of counsel, the claimant entered into a Compromise and Release Agreement settling his claim. The settlement hearing was held telephonically, where the claimant testified quite clearly regarding his understanding of the settlement. At the hearing, the workers’ compensation judge told the claimant that if the settlement was approved, his case was over and he could not come back if at some time in the future he believed he settled for too little money. The claimant responded by saying he still wanted to settle his case, and the C&R Agreement was approved.

The claimant then appealed the decision approving the C&R Agreement to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board. According to the claimant, the parties mutually made computational errors relative to the amount in hearing loss benefits he would be entitled to for his injury. The Board affirmed the judge’s approval of the settlement and dismissed the claimant’s appeal.

The claimant appealed to the Commonwealth Court, which also dismissed the claimant’s appeal. They rejected the claimant’s contention that there was “total agreement” between the parties regarding the claimant’s specialist’s evaluation of hearing loss percentages and that the lump sum was to be based on those percentages, in accordance with the formulas set forth in Section 306(c)(a)(ii) of the Act. The court noted that the C&R Agreement, the claimant’s testimony, and the evidentiary record was devoid of any indication that the parties agreed to utilize a formula calculating the lump sum payment or that the employer was even aware of such an agreement.

_{What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 26, No. 10, October 2022 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2022 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.}