Bailey v. SWCC and Eastern Associated Coal Corp.

NEELY, Justice:

We have consolidated the appeals in these three cases in order to consider whether to adhere to prior decisions holding that non-compliance with directory time limitations of the Workmen’s Compensation Act erects a jurisdictional hurdle that can never be overcome. No convincing reason to adhere to that proposition presents itself, so today we overrule our holdings concerning the jurisdictional nature of time periods in Spaulding v. State Workmen’s Compensation Commissioner, 157 W.Va. 849, 205 S.E.2d 130 (1974); Baker v. State Workmen’s Compensation Commissioner, 143 W.Va. 536,…