Stephenson v. Tyson Foods, Inc.

19 S.W.3d 36, 70 Ark. App. 265, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 396
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedMay 17, 2000
DocketCA 99-1104
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 19 S.W.3d 36 (Stephenson v. Tyson Foods, Inc.) 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
Stephenson v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 19 S.W.3d 36, 70 Ark. App. 265, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 396 (Ark. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

SAM Bird, Judge.

Huida Stephenson appeals a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Commission that denied her benefits for a herniated cervical disc. The Commission found that she had failed to connect the herniated disc to her compensable injury. Stephenson argues that the decision is not supported by substantial evidence. We agree, and, consequently, reverse and remand.

At the hearing before the administrative law judge it was stipulated that Ms. Stephenson sustained a compensable injury on January 2, 1997, when she was knocked unconscious by at least three large plastic-coated boxes, weighing as much as 75 pounds each and designed to hold 2000 pounds of chicken, that fell from a second-floor catwalk and hit her in the neck, back, and shoulder while she was working on the first floor.

Stephenson was treated at HealthCare Plus, then referred to Dr. John Lytle, an orthopedist, who diagnosed a shoulder contusion and, on February 4, released her to return to work without restrictions and without the need to return for further treatment. However, Stephenson continued to experience severe pain, so she took a lot of ibuprofen. When the ibuprofen began to upset her stomach, she consulted her family physician, Dr. Ron Tanner. Dr. Tanner ordered a bone scan that showed a compression fracture at T9-10. Hyson sent Stephenson back to Dr. Lytle, who treated her for the compression fracture that Dr. Tanner had diagnosed, and released her again on April 7 to return to work with limited activities.

Stephenson continued to work after her second release by Dr. Lytle, while continuing to see her own doctors in an attempt to find out what was wrong with her. Because she continued to experience pain, Stephenson returned to Dr. Tanner at the end of April, and he referred her to Dr. Terrell Bishop, a neurologist. Dr. Bishop attempted to put Stephenson on light-duty work, but Hyson’s workers’ compensation claims coordinator would not accept the work restriction because Dr. Bishop was not Stephenson’s treating physician. So, Stephenson returned to Dr. Bishop, and he removed her from work completely. Finally, near the end of July 1997, Dr. Bishop discovered that Stephenson had herniated cervical discs at C4-5 and C6-7. Dr. Bishop then referred Stephenson to Dr. Ronald N. Williams, a neurosurgeon, who performed an anterior cervical fusion on October 16, 1997.

The administrative law judge awarded temporary total disability benefits from July 21 through December 2, 1997; permanent disability benefits for a nine-percent permanent impairment; all related medical treatment, including that obtained from Drs. Lytle, Bishop, Tanner, and Williams subsequent to July 21, 1997; and maximum attorney fees. The Commission reversed, holding that Stephenson had failed to show a connection between her compen-sable injury of January 2, 1997, and her herniated cervical discs that were diagnosed in July.

Stephenson argues on appeal that the Commission’s finding was not based on substantial evidence. In a workers’ compensation case, the claimant has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that his claim is compensable. Jordan v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 51 Ark. App. 100, 911 S.W.2d 593 (1995); Bates v. Frost Logging Co., 38 Ark. App. 36, 827 S.W.2d 664 (1992); Wolfe v. City of El Dorado, 33 Ark. App. 25, 799 S.W.2d 812 (1990). The claimant must also prove a causal connection between the work-related accident and the later disabling injury. Lybrand v. Arkansas Oak Flooring Co., 266 Ark. 946, 588 S.W.2d 449 (1979). The determination of whether the causal connection exists is a question of fact for the Commission to determine. Jeter v. B.R. McGinty Mech., 62 Ark. App. 53, 968 S.W.2d 645 (1998); Carter v. Flintrol, Inc., 19 Ark. App. 317, 720 S.W.2d 337 (1986).

On appeal, we view the evidence in the fight most favorable to the Commission’s findings and will affirm if those findings are supported by substantial evidence. Morelock v. Kearney Co., 48 Ark. App. 227, 894 S.W.2d 603 (1995). Substantial evidence means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. College Club Dairy v. Carr, 25 Ark. App. 215, 756 S.W.2d 128 (1988). To reverse a decision of the Commission, we must be convinced that fair-minded persons, with the same facts before them, could not have reached the conclusion arrived at by the Commission. Franklin Collier Farms v. Chapple, 18 Ark. App. 200, 712 S.W.2d 334 (1986).

Where a claim is denied because the claimant has failed to show entitlement to compensation by a preponderance of the evidence, the substantial-evidence standard of review requires us to affirm the Commission if its opinion displays a substantial basis for the denial of the relief sought. Jeter v. B.R. McGinty Mech., 62 Ark. App. 53, 968 S.W.2d 645 (1998); Linthicum v. Mar-Bax Shirt Co., 23 Ark. App. 26, 741 S.W.2d 275 (1987). These rules insulate the Commission from judicial review and properly so, as it is a specialist in this area and we are not. Wade v. Mr. C. Cavenaugh’s, 25 Ark. App. 237, 756 S.W.2d 923 (1988). However, a total insulation would obviously render our function in these cases meaningless. Boyd v. Dana Corp., 62 Ark. App. 78, 966 S.W.2d 946 (1998); Boyd v. Gen. Indus., 22 Ark. App. 103, 733 S.W.2d 750 (1987).

The Commission found that Stephenson had failed to follow the proper procedure for changing physicians, and, for that reason, was not entitled to benefits for all the medical care she received from doctors other than Dr. Lytle. When a claimant seeks a change of physician, she must petition the Commission for approval. Arkansas Code Annotated section 11-9-514(a) (2) (A) (Repl. 1996) provides:

If the employer selects a physician, the claimant may petition the commission one (1) time only for a change of physician, and if the commission approves the change with or without a hearing, the commission shall determine the second physician and shall not be bound by recommendations of claimant or respondent.

However, if Tyson failed to give Stephenson the change-of-physician form after her injury, Stephenson was not required to petition the Commission in order to be treated by a competent doctor. An exception exists in Ark. Code Ann. § ll-9-514(c), which states:

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Stephenson v. Tyson Foods, Inc.
19 S.W.3d 36 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
19 S.W.3d 36, 70 Ark. App. 265, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 396, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stephenson-v-tyson-foods-inc-arkctapp-2000.