Christiana Care Health Services, Appellee-Below/appellant v. Cecil Palomino, Appellant-Below/appellee Timber…

Summary

The Court affirmed the Superior Court’s judgment invalidating the Department of Labor regulation that imposed a 45-day deadline for seeking Board review of a utilization-review determination. It held that the deadline conflicts with the workers’ compensation statute’s five-year limitations protection and impermissibly restricts the statutory right to de novo Board review. Justice Berger, dissenting with Chief Justice Steele joining, would have upheld the 45-day deadline as an appeal period consistent with the statute’s separate limitations period for submitting compensation claims.