Capuano v. Indus. Comm'n

In Capuano v. Indus. Comm'n, 150 Ariz. 224, 226, 722 P.2d 392, 394 (App. 1986), the carrier issued two notices of supportive care providing for medication plus office visits. Id. at 225, 722 P.2d at 393. Each notice included a ninety-day protest clause and an annual review clause. Id. Two years later, the claimant's doctor requested authorization to alter the medications and increase the office visits, to which the carrier objected. Id. After the claimant requested a hearing under A.R.S. 23-1061(J), the ALJ granted the request for additional supportive care. Id. at 225-26, 722 P.2d at 393-94. On appeal, we rejected the carrier's argument that the claimant's request was barred by res judicata. Id. at 226, 722 P.2d at 394. The Court held that an award of supportive care subject to annual review "does not determine with finality the effect of the claimant's original, industrially related condition upon a future continuing need for supportive care benefits." Id. The Court further concluded that a carrier's "voluntary payment of supportive care benefits does not bar its request for a later determination whether a claimant's current condition is still causally related to the industrial injury." Id. at 227, 722 P.2d at 395.