Steinberg v. South Dakota Department of Military & Veterans Affairs

2000 SD 36, 607 N.W.2d 596, 2000 S.D. LEXIS 36
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 15, 2000
DocketNone
StatusPublished
Cited by56 cases

This text of 2000 SD 36 (Steinberg v. South Dakota Department of Military & Veterans Affairs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Steinberg v. South Dakota Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, 2000 SD 36, 607 N.W.2d 596, 2000 S.D. LEXIS 36 (S.D. 2000).

Opinion

*598 GILBERTSON, Justice

[¶ 1.] Edna K. Steinberg (Steinberg) appeals the circuit court’s order dismissing her claim for workers’ compensation benefits pursuant to SDCL 62-1-1(7). We reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

[¶ 2.] The material facts of this case are undisputed. At the time of Steinberg’s injury, she was employed at Camp Rapid in Rapid City, South Dakota. Camp Rapid is administered by the Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs of the State of South Dakota (DMVA). She had fixed hours of employment from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with an unpaid lunch break from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. On March 3, 1997, shortly after 12:00 p.m., Steinberg left her office during her lunch period. She was free to leave the base as there was nothing about her duties that required her to stay over the lunch hour. She planned to walk to where her car was parked between Buildings 703 and 704 of the camp, and then drive over to her husband’s workplace, also at Camp Rapid. Steinberg’s office was located in Building 603 of the camp, and as she stepped onto the road between Building 603 and Building 703, she slipped and fell on some “black” ice.

[¶ 3.] It had begun snowing at approximately 9:00 a.m. that morning. Snowplows had cleared the street in front of Building 603 approximately one hour before Steinberg’s accident. However, the road was neither sanded nor salted. The roads contained within the confines of Camp Rapid are generally open to the public and were so on the day of the injury.

[¶ 4.] When Steinberg fell to the ground, her head hit the asphalt, and she was knocked unconscious for approximately one minute. Within ten minutes of the fall, Steinberg began to feel dizzy, experience lower back pain and pain around her neck and shoulders. She immediately sought medical attention. On March 4, 1997 Steinberg timely informed her supervisor of her injury. Steinberg subsequently sought treatment through physical therapy; however, it did not seem to help her shoulder and neck pain. She was then referred to Dr. Seljeskog, who had MRI’s taken and discovered two discs in her neck were out of alignment. Steinberg underwent surgery to have the two discs removed.

[¶ 5.] DMVA denied liability for Stein-berg’s injury. Steinberg brought a claim for workers’ compensation benefits before the Department of Labor (Department). The Department entered its decision and an order and findings of fact and conclusions of law on June 2, 1998, finding Stein-berg as a matter of law, had sustained a compensable injury arising out of and in the course of her employment with DMVA. DMVA subsequently appealed to the Hughes County Circuit Court. The circuit court ruled the Department had applied the incorrect test for the “arising out of’ element of SDCL 62-1-1(7), and that the 1995 amendment to the statute required an injury arise out of the employment by a “major contributing cause.” Thus, the circuit court remanded the case back to the Department. The Department applied the circuit court’s standard and found Stein-berg’s injury arose out of her employment under this standard as well. Upon DMVA’s second appeal to circuit court, the court reversed the Department’s ruling dismissing Steinberg’s claim in its entirety. Steinberg appeals, raising the following issues for our consideration:

1. Whether SDCL 62-1-1(7) requires a workers’ compensation claimant to prove, by a standard of “major contributing cause,” that an injury arose out of employment.
2. Whether Steinberg’s injury arose out of her employment as a matter of law.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 6.] In this case we are presented with the statutory interpretation of the *599 1995 amendments to SDCL 62-1-1(7). It is well settled that “[statutory interpretation presents a question of law reviewable de novo.” Zoss v. Schaefers, 1999 SD 105, ¶ 6, 598 N.W.2d 550, 552 (citing Satellite Cable Srvs. v. Northern Electric, 1998 SD 67, ¶ 5, 581 N.W.2d 478, 480). When reviewing the construction of a statute, “we interpret statutes in accord with legislative intent.” Welsh v. Centerville Township, 1999 SD 73, ¶ 7, 595 N.W.2d 622, 624 (quoting McIntyre v. Wick, 1996 SD 147, ¶ 51, 558 N.W.2d 347, 362 (citing Fall River County v. South Dakota Dept. of Revenue, 1996 SD 106, ¶ 13, 552 N.W.2d 620, 624)).

ANALYSIS AND DECISION

[¶ 7.] 1. Whether SDCL 62-1-1(7) requires a workers’ compensation claimant to prove, by a standard of “major contributing cause,” that an injury arose out of employment.

[¶ 8.] Steinberg argues the circuit court erroneously interpreted the definition of “injury” contained in SDCL 62-1-1(7) as amended in 1995. The circuit court construed SDCL 62-l-l(7)(a) in such a way that the term “major contributing cause” modifies the phrase “injury arising out of’ the employment. The circuit court stated in its oral bench ruling, incorporated by reference in the circuit court’s conclusions of law “it’s my judgment that the major contributing cause language was intended by the Legislature to substantially increase the causal connection that is required to be proven under the ‘arising out of test imposed by the statute.” The circuit court also found the “major contributing cause” language poses an even stricter standard than the tort-based concept of proximate cause in proving the employment caused the employee’s injury. Stein-berg argues the circuit court erred in its interpretation in that SDCL 62-l-l(7)(a) only applies to the degree of medical proof required to show the employment-related injury produced a “condition.” Steinberg claims the circuit court treated the word “condition” as synonymous with the word “injury.” We find the circuit court erred in its interpretation of this statute and we do not agree that the “major contributing cause” language in the statute was meant to raise a claimant’s standard of proof of a work-related injury similar to or above the fault-based tort concept of proximate cause.

[¶ 9.] In addressing this issue, we strive to delineate the scope of legislative intent in amending SDCL 62-1-1(7). Prior to its amendment in 1995, SDCL 62-1-1

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Bluebook (online)
2000 SD 36, 607 N.W.2d 596, 2000 S.D. LEXIS 36, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steinberg-v-south-dakota-department-of-military-veterans-affairs-sd-2000.