Karabees v. State Board ( 2013 )

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE
CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING
EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals
Thomas Karabees, Jr., Employee, Respondent,
v.
State Board for Tech. & Comp. Education, Employer,
and State Accident Fund, Carrier, Appellants.
Appellate Case No. 2012-213196
Appeal From The Workers' Compensation Commission
Unpublished Opinion No. 2013-UP-447
Heard November 5, 2013 – Filed December 11, 2013
AFFIRMED
Margaret Mary Urbanic, of Clawson & Staubes, LLC, of
Charleston, and Ellen H. Goodwin, of State Accident
Fund, of Columbia, for Appellants.
Thomas M. White, of the Steinberg Law Firm, LLP, of
Goose Creek, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM: The State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education
and the State Accident Fund (collectively, Appellants) appeal the Appellate Panel
of the Workers' Compensation Commission's (Appellate Panel) order finding
Thomas Karabees, Jr. totally and permanently disabled. Appellants contend the
Appellate Panel erred in affirming the single commissioner's determination that
Karabees's disability resulted from a workplace fall and not his pre-existing
multiple sclerosis. We affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following
authorities: Wise v. Wise, 394 S.C. 591, 597, 716 S.E.2d 117, 120 (Ct. App. 2011)
("The Appellate Panel's decision must be affirmed if supported by substantial
evidence in the record."); Stone v. Traylor Bros., 360 S.C. 271, 274, 600 S.E.2d
551, 552 (Ct. App. 2004) (providing this court may not substitute its judgment for
that of the Appellate Panel as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact,
but may reverse when the decision is affected by an error of law); Palmetto
Alliance, Inc. v. S.C. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 282 S.C. 430, 432, 319 S.E.2d 695, 696
(1984) ("[T]he possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the
evidence does not prevent an administrative agency's finding from being supported
by substantial evidence."); Shealy v. Aiken Cnty., 341 S.C. 448, 455, 535 S.E.2d
438, 442 (2000) (holding in workers' compensation cases, the Appellate Panel is
the ultimate finder of fact); Hargrove v. Titan Textile Co., 360 S.C. 276, 290, 599
S.E.2d 604, 611 (Ct. App. 2004) (noting that when the evidence conflicts on a
factual issue, the findings of the Appellate Panel are conclusive); Bass v. Kenco
Grp., 366 S.C. 450, 458, 622 S.E.2d 577, 581 (Ct. App. 2005) ("The final
determination of witness credibility and the weight to be accorded evidence is
reserved to the [A]ppellate [P]anel."); Potter v. Spartanburg Sch. Dist. 7, 395 S.C.
17, 24, 716 S.E.2d 123, 127 (Ct. App. 2011) ("[I]t is not for this court to balance
objective against subjective findings of medical witnesses, or to weigh the
testimony of one witness against that of another. That function belongs to the
Appellate Panel alone." (internal quotation marks omitted)).
AFFIRMED.
FEW, C.J., and PIEPER and KONDUROS, JJ., concur.