Court of Appeals hears dispute over admissibility of vocational expert in Smith Wade v. Glyton Construction

A Court of Appeals panel heard arguments in Smith Wade v. Glyton Construction on whether the employer waived its challenge to vocational expert Lee Chapa’s testimony and whether the superior court made the findings required under Burnett before striking testimony.

Doug Palmer, attorney for Smith Wade, told the panel that the employer repeatedly failed to raise the challenge at the administrative stages and in petitions for review, and therefore the objection to Chapa’s testimony was waived. "Here the employer failed to preserve the issue of striking mister Choppa's testimony in the administrative record before the board of industrial insurance appeals," Palmer said during opening argument.

The judge pressed the parties on what constituted an "aggrieved party" for purposes of petitioning and on whether…