Poulan Weed Eater v. Marshall

84 S.W.3d 878, 79 Ark. App. 129, 2002 Ark. App. LEXIS 512
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 18, 2002
DocketCA 01-1301
StatusPublished
Cited by58 cases

This text of 84 S.W.3d 878 (Poulan Weed Eater v. Marshall) 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
Poulan Weed Eater v. Marshall, 84 S.W.3d 878, 79 Ark. App. 129, 2002 Ark. App. LEXIS 512 (Ark. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

Karen R. Baker, Judge.

The appellant, Poulan Weed Eater, appeals from a decision by the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission awarding appellee, Loretta Marshall, temporary total disability benefits and additional medical treatment after an admittedly compensable injury. Appellant contends that the Commission’s finding in support of its decision that additional medical treatment is reasonable and necessary and related to appellee’s compensable injury was not supported by substantial evidence. It also claims that the Commission’s decision that appellee is entitled to temporary total disability benefits from July 28, 2000, and continuing through a date yet to be determined is not supported by substantial evidence. We hold that substantial evidence supports the Commission’s findings and affirm.

Appellee, Ms. Marshall, worked for appellant for over twelve years. During the last six to eight months of her employment, she began experiencing pain in both hands. She testified that on May 16, 2000, she developed additional symptoms in her left arm of tingling, limpness and a heavy feeling when she reached behind her with her left arm and picked up a tray of pistons. Ms. Marshall also testified that she reported these pains to her supervisor, Randy Welch, who then took her to the nurse’s station. After she explained her symptoms to him and the nurse, they both went to inspect Ms. Marshall’s job duties. Upon their return, the nurse advised Ms. Marshall that her job could not have caused her symptoms and instructed Ms. Marshall to see her family physician. Ms. Marshall then left work even though she had only been at work a few hours.

Mr. Welch testified that he had no independent recollection of Ms. Marshall’s reporting of her hand and arm pains, but that he would routinely send a person to the nurse who reported such pains. The nurse testified that she had seen Ms. Marshall on that date, but that Ms. Marshall only had her blood pressure checked. The nurse had no recollection of seeing Ms. Marshall for hand and arm pain, nor did she recall going to evaluate Ms. Marshall’s job duties.

Appellant’s workers’ compensation manager confirmed that Ms. Marshall only worked for an hour to an hour-and-a-half before clocking out on May 16, 2000. This witness also confirmed that Ms. Marshall was not provided with a form N. In addition, medical records reflected that Ms. Marshall reported to the emergency room of the local hospital at 1:08 p.m. on May 16, 2000, with complaints of left arm pain and numbness that had started that day.

Ms. Marshall received several certificates for return to work dated as early as May 17, 2000. She was being treated throughout this time period. The last certificate was dated July 25, 2000, and released her back to work on July 26, 2000. The certificate indicated that Ms. Marshall had been under the care of the treating physician from July 25 to an unspecified date in the future. On July 28, 2000, appellant terminated Ms. Marshall’s employment citing the reason as absenteeism and tardiness. Medical evidence was in conflict and included statements that if Ms. Marshall went back to the same line of work, it might make symptoms worse and recommended additional testing and consultation. In addition, her family physician stated that it was reasonable and necessary for Ms. Marshall to remain off work subsequent to July 28 until she could obtain appropriate medical care. The Commission found that Ms. Marshall had not returned to work.

Appellant stipulated that Ms. Marshall sustained a compensa-ble injury; consequently, the majority of the testimony centered around the type of work that Ms. Marshall performed and whether she had reported an injury. The administrative law judge’s opinion, adopted by the Commission, addressed the discrepancies in the testimony observing that the nurse did not testify from an independent memory, but from an incomplete nurse’s log. The log did not reflect a reason for Ms. Marshall’s visit, and the opinion noted that the nurse merely assumed that Ms. Marshall came in for a blood-pressure check. Specifically, the opinion stated that Ms. Marshall was credible and that her account was more accurate than that of Mr. Welch and the nurse.

This court reviews decisions of the Workers’ Compensation Commission to see if they are supported by substantial evidence. Deffenbaugh Indus. v. Angus, 39 Ark. App. 24, 832 S.W.2d 869 (1992). In determining the sufficiency of the evidence to support the findings of the Workers’ Compensation Commission, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commission’s findings, and we will affirm if those findings are supported by substantial evidence. Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. The determination of the credibility and weight to be given a witness’s testimony is within the sole province of the Commission. The Commission is not required to believe the testimony of the claimant or any other witness, but may accept and translate into findings of fact only those portions of the testimony it deems worthy of belief. Farmers Coop. v. Biles, 77 Ark. App. 1, 4-5, 69 S.W.3d 899, 902 (2002). Further, the Commission has the authority to accept or reject medical opinions, and its resolution of the medical evidence has the force and effect of a jury verdict. Estridge v. Waste Mgmt, 343 Ark. 276, 33 S.W.3d 167 (2000).

Here, in reaching its decision, the Commission specifically noted discrepancy in testimony of witnesses for appellant and appellee and found that appellee was credible and that her account of what transpired was more accurate than appellant’s witnesses. Furthermore, medical records corroborated the account. The decision noted that medical diagnoses on the claim were in conflict, but that appellant had accepted the injury and that the claim was compensable. The decision also noted that while one doctor conducted tests which he interpreted as normal, another doctor indicated that going back to the same line of work might make appellee’s symptoms worse. Still another had recommended additional testing. Ms. Marshall’s treating physician’s opinion was that it was reasonable for her to remain off work until proper testing and treatment had been done. From our review of the evidence, we conclude that substantial evidence supports the Commission’s decision that additional medical treatment is necessary and related to Ms. Marshall’s compensable injury.

We also hold that substantial evidence supports the Commission’s finding that Ms. Marshall is entitled to temporary total disability benefits from July 28, 2000, and continuing to a date yet to be determined. Appellant argues that appellee’s healing period had ended because she had received a certificate to return to work, that she returned to work on July 26, and then was fired on July 28 for absenteeism and tardiness unrelated to her claim.1

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Bluebook (online)
84 S.W.3d 878, 79 Ark. App. 129, 2002 Ark. App. LEXIS 512, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/poulan-weed-eater-v-marshall-arkctapp-2002.