Hill v. Baptist Medical Center

48 S.W.3d 544, 74 Ark. App. 250, 2001 Ark. App. LEXIS 511
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedJune 20, 2001
DocketCA 00-1177
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 48 S.W.3d 544 (Hill v. Baptist Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. Baptist Medical Center, 48 S.W.3d 544, 74 Ark. App. 250, 2001 Ark. App. LEXIS 511 (Ark. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinions

JOHN B. ROBBINS, Judge.

In our original opinion in this J appeal, Hill v. Baptist Medical Center, 74 Ark. App. 250, 48 S.W.3d 544 (2001), we reversed the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s decision that held that appellant’s laminectomy surgery was not reasonable and necessary treatment for her compensable injury; that appellee had failed to raise before the Commission the issue of whether the surgeon who performed this surgery, Dr. Fox, was an authorized physician; and remanded the case to the Commission for further proceedings, including a determination of whether appellant was entitled to additional temporary total disability benefits. Appellee timely filed a petition for rehearing. We have granted this petition. In this substituted opinion we direct the Commission on remand to also determine whether services rendered by Dr. Fox constituted authorized treatment.

Appellant Sheila Hill appeals the denial of workers’ compensation benefits by the Workers’ Compensation Commission in her claim against her employer, appellee Baptist Medical Center. Appellant raises two points on appeal: (1) that the Commission erred as a matter of law by refusing to consider appellant’s post-surgical improvement when determining whether surgery was reasonable and necessary; and (2) that the Commission’s denial of further benefits is not supported by substantial evidence. We reverse and remand because the finding that surgery was not reasonable and necessary is not supported by substantial evidence, and we remand to the Commission to make a finding as to which party bears the cost of this treatment.

The standard of review for appeals from the Workers’ Compensation Commission is well-settled. On appeal, this court will view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commission’s decision and affirm when that decision is supported by substantial evidence. Crudup v. Regal Ware, Inc., 341 Ark. 804, 20 S.W.3d 900 (2000). Where the Commission denies benefits because the claimant has failed to meet his burden of proof, the substantial-evidence standard of review requires us to affirm if the Commission’s decision displays a substantial basis for the denial of relief. Id. A substantial basis exists if fair-minded persons could reach the same conclusion when considering the same facts. Id. The issue is not whether the appellate court might have reached a different result or whether the evidence would have supported a contrary finding; if reasonable minds could reach the Commission’s conclusion, then we must affirm. Green Bay Packing v. Bartlett, 67 Ark. App. 332, 999 S.W.2d 692 (1999). The Commission is not required to believe the testimony of any witness, and it may accept and translate into findings of fact only those portions of the testimony that it deems worthy of belief. Holloway v. Ray White Lumber Co., 337 Ark. 524, 990 S.W.2d 526 (1999). The Commission has the authority to accept or reject medical opinion and the authority to determine its medical soundness and probative force. Green Bay Packing v. Bartlett, supra. The Commission has the duty to use its expertise in translating evidence of medical experts into findings of fact. Id. However, these standards must not totally insulate the Commission from judicial review because this would render this court’s function meaningless in workers’ compensation cases. Inskeep v. Emerson Elec. Co., 64 Ark. App. 101, 983 S.W.2d 132 (1998).

On February 4, 1999, appellant suffered an admittedly com-pensable back injury, a herniation at L4-5, while at work for appel-lee in her capacity as a certified nurse’s assistant as she escorted a psychiatric patient to his room. She sought medical treatment in the emergency room of her employer the following day, and she received a Toradol injection to relieve the discomfort she felt in her low back and radiating down her left leg. She returned to the emergency room three days later complaining of pain radiating down her lower left thigh. Appellant next presented to Dr. Barg, her family doctor, on February 11, who treated her conservatively and referred her to physical therapy. Dr. Barg ordered an MRI, but the workers’ compensation insurance carrier would not approve this diagnostic test because Dr. Barg was not an approved provider.

The insurance carrier referred appellant to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Russell, who noted in his report of March 19 the lack of improvement in her symptoms. Dr. Russell opined that her symptoms and history were consistent with nerve root irritation, which is typically secondary to a ruptured disc. He ordered an MRI, and this test revealed the presence of a herniated disc at L4-5 that was compromising the nerve root at the left L4. In Dr. Russell’s clinic note dated April 7, he stated that her pain had actually worsened somewhat and she continued to have quite a bit of pain behavior while sitting for the examination. Dr. Russell explained that the symptoms she expressed on April 7 did not match the expected distribution as shown by the MRI, but that, even so, not one of his patients in the last five years who was a workers’ compensation claimant got any better after surgical intervention. Dr. Russell stated that even the patients he had seen who were “perfectly suited for surgical intervention do not seem to have a significant improvement.” Dr. Russell opined that she was better suited for pain management, and that if this course was unsuccessful, then she would need an impairment rating and release from treatment. Dr. Russell referred her for further conservative treatment under the care of Dr. Meador.

Appellant saw Dr. Meador of Arkansas Pain Centers, Ltd., on April 15, whose evaluation of appellant indicated a sacroiliac strain; Dr. Meador made no mention of herniation. She prescribed an injection at the pain site and physical therapy. Throughout the course of physical therapy, which consisted of approximately six sessions, appellant complained of low back and lower extremity pain. However, there were notes of improvement in her condition during the course of physical therapy. In Dr. Meador’s progress note dated May 13, she stated that the strain had improved with the injection and physical therapy and that a work-conditioning program would be impleménted. A physical therapist’s progress report dated June 2 noted that appellant cried throughout her session, though the therapist could not find a sacral or lumbar problem. The therapist requested that Dr. Meador advise her how to proceed with the patient.

Appellant presented on June 3 to Dr. Meador, who stated that by her physical examination the sacroiliac strain had resolved. At that time, Dr. Meador released appellant to work with restrictions, but such work was unavailable, so appellant stayed off work. Dr. Meador anticipated that appellant would be released to work full duty in two months. No further medical care was administered, nor would the carrier authorize any upon written request because there were “no objective findings” and “Ms. Hill is seeking treatment for pain,” per a letter from the carrier dated July 16.

On August 2, Dr. Meador recommended that appellant begin water .aerobics for her general fitness and, as the doctor had earlier indicated, she released appellant to work without restrictions. Dr. Meador also remarked on that date that appellant exhibited exaggerated pain behavior.

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Bluebook (online)
48 S.W.3d 544, 74 Ark. App. 250, 2001 Ark. App. LEXIS 511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-baptist-medical-center-arkctapp-2001.