Thomas Chad Hilton, Claimant, Petitioner v. Flakeboard America Limited, Employer, and Liberty Mutual Insurance…

Summary

The South Carolina Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing Thomas Hilton’s appeal because the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s interlocutory order was immediately reviewable under S.C. Code Ann. §1‑23‑380(A). The Court vacated the dismissal and remanded for the Commission to consider only the 102 specific exceptions raised by Flakeboard. The decision rests on the principle that waiting for a final agency decision would not provide Hilton an adequate remedy given the Commission’s extreme, unexplained order. Justice Kittredge, in a concurring opinion, argues the majority’s reasoning conflicts with the Court’s decision in Bone.