Ankenbauer v. Indus. Comm., 07ap-909 (9-25-2008)

2008 Ohio 4892
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 25, 2008
DocketNo. 07AP-909.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2008 Ohio 4892 (Ankenbauer v. Indus. Comm., 07ap-909 (9-25-2008)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ankenbauer v. Indus. Comm., 07ap-909 (9-25-2008), 2008 Ohio 4892 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

DECISION
{¶ 1} Relator, Rebecca S. Ankenbauer, filed this original action seeking a writ of mandamus ordering respondent Industrial Commission of Ohio ("commission") to vacate its order denying her application for permanent total disability ("PTD") compensation and to enter an order granting such compensation. *Page 2

{¶ 2} Pursuant to Civ. R. 53 and Loc. R. 12(M) of the Tenth District Court of Appeals, we referred the matter to a magistrate, who has rendered a decision and recommendation (attached as Appendix A), including findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that this court deny the requested writ. Relator has filed objections to the magistrate's decision, and the matter is now before the court for an independent review. For the reasons set forth below, we overrule relator's objections and adopt the magistrate's decision as our own, including the findings of fact and conclusions of law therein.

{¶ 3} Relator's latest claim arising out of her employment as a certified nursing assistant with respondent Andover Village Retirement Community, Ltd., dba Miller Health Care Center, occurred on June 5, 2002, and her claim was allowed for "lumbosacral strain and sprain; lumbar herniated discs at L3-4, L4-5."

{¶ 4} The commission's doctor, Waleed N. Mansour, M.D., examined relator and concluded that she has an 11 percent whole body impairment arising cumulatively in relation to her six claims, and that she is capable of sedentary work.

{¶ 5} Relator can read, write, do basic math, and completed school through the ninth grade. By her own account she left school during the tenth grade to care for her father who was ill. In addition to her nursing assistant experience, relator has a job history of working in a fast-food restaurant and for approximately ten years in a plant nursery. Relator at the time of her PTD application was 52 years old.

{¶ 6} In support of her PTD application, relator provided a report by a vocational expert, John Ruth, who concluded that relator's age, work history, physical limitations, and limited education make her unable to undertake sustained remunerative employment. *Page 3

{¶ 7} The commission's staff hearing officer ("SHO") entered an order denying relator's PTD application based largely on a report of Dr. Mansour. The SHO concluded that relator's age was not an obstacle to re-employment, that relator's ninth-grade education, of itself, did not reflect a lack of intellectual ability to acquire new job skills, and that relator had a positive job history.

{¶ 8} The magistrate has found that the SHO's report complies withState ex rel. Noll v. Indus. Comm. (1991), 57 Ohio St.3d 203, because it adequately explains how the SHO considered the factors of education, age, and the semi-skilled nature of relator's nursing assistant position, and this provides some evidence to support the SHO's conclusion.

{¶ 9} The magistrate further examined the application of Ohio Adm. Code 121-3-34(B) regarding the consideration of vocational factors such as age, education, and work experience. The magistrate found that the SHO had correctly categorized a ninth-grade education as "limited education" for vocational assessment purposes, and had also correctly concluded that a ninth-grade education did not necessarily indicate a lack of intellectual ability for retraining and acquiring new job skills because of relator's ability to read, write, and perform basic math. The magistrate also observed that relator had left school to care for her sick father, and these circumstances did not reflect a lack of intellectual ability by relator to proceed further in school.

{¶ 10} The magistrate further found that the SHO has correctly considered the ninth-grade education as a neutral factor, that the certified nursing assistant position was semi-skilled, and that an age of 52 is positive factor for re-employment. The magistrate specifically noted that the Supreme Court of Ohio in State ex rel. Ellis v. McGrawEdison *Page 4 Co. (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 92, upheld the commission's determination that the claimant in that case, aged 51, was relatively young enough that his age was not a hindrance to re-employment.

{¶ 11} Relator's objections to the magistrate's decision address particularly the magistrate's conclusion that relator's ninth-grade education was a neutral factor and that her employment as a nursing assistant is semi-skilled. Relator also objects to the magistrate's conclusion that these two non-medical factors affect her ability to undertake sustained remunerative employment.

{¶ 12} We find that relator's objections are not well-taken. The magistrate did not err in finding that the commission's order complied with Noll because the commission set forth the evidence used, which was adequate, and did briefly explain the reasoning for his application of the evidence to the matter and the ultimate decision. Relator has not established that the magistrate and commission erred in concluding that relator's ninth-grade education, although correctly classified under the code as "limited," was a neutral factor towards re-employment because of relator's ability to read, write, and perform math. Nor do we find any inherent error in the magistrate's observation that relator's reason for leaving school, to care for her sick father, was not an indicator that she left school for lack of ability to proceed to undertake further education. Relator became a certified nursing assistant through on-the-job training according to the stipulated record. This, the magistrate correctly concluded, reflects that relator has the capacity to acquire new jobs, whether the nursing assistant position is characterized as unskilled, semi-skilled, or skilled. *Page 5

{¶ 13} Because we find that relator's objections to the magistrate's decision in this matter are not well-taken, we adopt the magistrate's recommendation and deny the requested writ of mandamus.

Objections overruled; writ denied.

BRYANT and FRENCH, JJ., concur.

GREY, J., retired of the Fourth Appellate District, assigned to active duty under authority of Section 6(C), Article IV, Ohio Constitution. *Page 6

APPENDIX A
MAGISTRATE'S DECISION
IN MANDAMUS
{¶ 14} In this original action, relator, Rebecca S. Ankenbauer, requests a writ of mandamus ordering respondent Industrial Commission of Ohio ("commission") to vacate its order denying her application for permanent total disability ("PTD") compensation, and to enter an order granting the application. *Page 7

Findings of Fact:

{¶ 15} 1. Relator has six industrial claims arising out of her employment as a certified nursing assistant with respondent Andover Village Retirement Community LTD, dba Miller Health Care Center, a state-fund employer. Her most recent injury occurred on June 5, 2002. That claim (No.

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Related

State ex rel. Noll v. Industrial Commission
567 N.E.2d 245 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1991)
State ex rel. Ellis v. McGraw Edison Co.
609 N.E.2d 164 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1993)
State ex rel. West v. Industrial Commission
658 N.E.2d 780 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1996)
State ex rel. Jackson v. Industrial Commission
680 N.E.2d 1233 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
2008 Ohio 4892, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ankenbauer-v-indus-comm-07ap-909-9-25-2008-ohioctapp-2008.