WARREN District court overturns dismissal

The court said the judge should not have considered the statute of limitations.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The widow and a son of a former county commissioner can ask a Trumbull County Common Pleas judge again to decide if they are entitled to additional workers' compensation.
The 11th District Court of Appeals reversed Judge Peter Kontos' decision to dismiss Karen S. and Reed T. Battin's case and sent it back for reconsideration.
Mrs. Battin is the widow of Thomas R. Battin, who was elected commissioner Nov. 6, 1984, but was seriously injured in a car crash June 6, 1985. He never resumed his duties and died in 1996.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol cited speed and alcohol as contributing factors in the crash, but Thomas Battin was never charged.
Wrong reason: The appeals court ruled that the judge erred when he dismissed the case on the grounds that it was past the statue of limitations because that point was never raised by the defendants -- the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Trumbull County commissioners.
Atty. Thomas Wright, who represents Mrs. Battin and her son, said he is "pleased" with the ruling. The BWC and county commissioners were unavailable for comment.
Court records indicate that Thomas Battin got benefits for other injuries he sustained in the crash.
Mrs. Battin wants additional benefits because she found out after her husband died that he was blind in his right eye and that the blindness may have been caused by the crash.
After Mrs. Battin found out that her husband was partially blind, she filed a new claim with the BWC, but it was denied.
She sued the state for the money in common pleas court.