Ford Motor Co. v. Hunt

494 S.E.2d 152, 26 Va. App. 231, 1997 Va. App. LEXIS 767
CourtCourt of Appeals of Virginia
DecidedDecember 23, 1997
Docket0821971
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 494 S.E.2d 152 (Ford Motor Co. v. Hunt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ford Motor Co. v. Hunt, 494 S.E.2d 152, 26 Va. App. 231, 1997 Va. App. LEXIS 767 (Va. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

BENTON, Judge.

Ford Motor Company appeals from the commission’s award of disability benefits to Larry I. Hunt. Ford argues that Hunt’s activity restrictions were unrelated to his compensable injury, that the commission improperly applied the “two causes” rule, and that Hunt failed to adequately market his residual work capacity. We affirm the commission’s award.

I.

Hunt suffered an injury to his right knee while working in a Ford assembly plant. He was treated by Dr. Sheldon Cohn, who placed Hunt on work restrictions, including no crawling, squatting, or lifting over thirty pounds. When Ford accepted the claim as compensable, the commission awarded Hunt benefits from March 30,1993 until May 16,1993.

*234 Hunt returned to work at Ford in a light duty capacity and continued to experience pain in his knee for several months. In October 1993, Dr. Cohn performed an “arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy and open lateral release of [Hunt’s] right knee” and reported that Hunt was unable to work. On February 25, 1994, Dr. Cohn released Hunt for limited duty and noted that Hunt was “not to squat, crawl, or climb.” In March and April, Hunt participated in a work-hardening program which also recommended limits “on prolonged standing/walking.” In a report dated April 8, 1994, Dr. Cohn “released [Hunt] with permanent work restrictions of limited squatting, climbing, crawling, and not to stand over four hours at a time.” Several weeks later, Hunt returned to Dr. Cohn complaining of pain. Dr. Cohn gave him injections and removed him from work until April 27. When Hunt returned to work, Dr. Cohn continued his work restrictions.

In July, Dr. Cohn noted that Hunt was experiencing pain while at work and removed him from work until August. In a report dated August 1994, Dr. Cohn again noted that Hunt was not to stand or walk for prolonged periods; was not to stoop, climb, squat, crawl, or kneel; and could not carry heavy materials. However, after several weeks, Dr. Cohn removed the restrictions on prolonged standing and walking and noted that “otherwise, his work restrictions are the same.”

When Hunt returned to work in a modified light duty capacity, he drove a forklift for three months until Ford moved the job to another plant. Hunt then drove a forklift for two weeks until he was taken off that job because of Ford’s seniority policy.

Hunt returned to Dr. Cohn on April 5, 1995, complaining of swelling in the right knee. Dr. Cohn diagnosed Hunt with arthrosis of the right knee and stated, “I do not believe his present condition is related to his previous work related injury.”

Ford had no positions within Hunt’s restrictions and released Hunt in December 1995. In a December 12,1995 letter written in response to Ford’s request for information regard *235 ing Hunt’s restrictions, Dr. Cohn stated that, although Hunt’s work restrictions barred squatting, crawling, or climbing, “[a]ny further restrictions, which would include the walking and standing restrictions, would be due to arthrosis of his knee, not related to a work injury.” A month later, Dr. Cohn noted:

At this time, I will continue his permanent work restrictions of no squatting, crawling, or climbing. These are work related. At this time, I will make his nonwork related restrictions, which is mainly for arthritis, of not to stand over 30 minutes at one time with 10 minute breaks in-between.

Hunt filed an application alleging a change in his condition due to temporary total disability as of December 6, 1995. At the evidentiary hearing, Hunt testified that he did not have arthritis in his right knee prior to his 1993 work injury or the surgery that was performed on his knee. He also testified that he did not have arthritis at any place except in his injured knee. In addition, the evidence at the hearing proved that Hunt sought a second opinion from Dr. Michael T. Longstreet on May 28, 1996. Dr. Longstreet opined that the knee injury was not arthritis and that the injury to Hunt’s knee was work-related.

The deputy commissioner ruled that Hunt’s current partial disability was the result of two causes, one work-related and one non-work-related. Applying the “two causes” rule, the deputy commissioner ruled that Ford was liable for the entire resulting disability. The deputy commissioner also found, however, that Hunt failed to adequately market his residual capacity and, therefore, denied Hunt any benefits.

Hunt and Ford each requested review by the commission. The commission applied the “two causes” rule and found that the evidence sufficiently established that Hunt’s work injury was a contributing factor to the disability because the standing and walking restrictions were partly caused by Hunt’s work-related injury. In holding that the restrictions were not exclusively caused by the arthritis condition, the commission *236 cited Dr. Cohn’s January 23, 1996 letter and stated that “[i]f the claimant’s restrictions result ‘mainly’ from his arthritis, some portion of it must result from his industrial injury.” The commission also relied on the proof that the two injuries were to the same body member, the right knee. In addition, the commission upheld the deputy commissioner’s finding that Hunt failed to market his residual capacity and was not entitled to benefits from December 1995 to April 28, 1996. The commission found, however, that Hunt was entitled to temporary partial disability benefits beginning on April 29, 1996 when he found employment within his residual capacity.

II.

The standard of our review of the commission’s findings of fact is well established.

We do not retry the facts before the Commission nor do we review the weight, preponderance of the evidence, or the credibility of witnesses. If there is evidence or reasonable inference that can be drawn from the evidence to support the Commission’s findings, they will not be disturbed by this Court on appeal, even though there is evidence in the record to support contrary findings of fact.

Caskey v. Dan River Mills, Inc., 225 Va. 405, 411, 302 S.E.2d 507, 510-11 (1983). The commission’s interpretation of the medical evidence is a finding of fact. See Ohio Valley Constr. Co. v. Jackson, 230 Va. 56, 59, 334 S.E.2d 554, 556 (1985).

Viewed in the light most favorable to Hunt, see R.G. Moore Bldg. Corp. v. Mullins, 10 Va.App. 211, 212, 390 S.E.2d 788, 788 (1990), the evidence proved that in 1993 and in 1994, Dr. Cohn limited Hunt from stooping, climbing, squatting, crawling, kneeling, carrying heavy objects, prolonged standing, and prolonged walking. All of those restrictions were caused by Hunt’s work-related injury. In August of 1994, Dr. Cohn removed the restrictions on prolonged walking and standing. However, he noted that Hunt still had “permanent work restrictions of no squatting, crawling, or climbing,” which flowed from his work-related injury.

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Bluebook (online)
494 S.E.2d 152, 26 Va. App. 231, 1997 Va. App. LEXIS 767, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ford-motor-co-v-hunt-vactapp-1997.