Wampler-Longacre, Inc. v. Betty D. Hill ( 1995 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Chief Judge Moon, Senior Judges Cole and Duff
WAMPLER-LONGACRE, INC.
AND
PACIFIC EMPLOYERS INSURANCE COMPANY
MEMORANDUM OPINION *
v. Record No. 1805-95-3 PER CURIAM
DECEMBER 12, 1995
BETTY D. HILL
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS'
COMPENSATION COMMISSION
(Cathleen P. Welsh; Wharton, Aldhizer & Weaver, on
brief), for appellants.
(A. Thomas Lane, Jr., on brief), for appellee.
Wampler-Longacre, Inc. and its insurer (hereinafter
collectively referred to as "employer") contend that the Workers'
Compensation Commission erred in finding that Betty D. Hill's
("claimant") bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome constituted a
"disease". Upon reviewing the record and the briefs of the
parties, we conclude that this appeal is without merit.
Accordingly, we summarily affirm the commission's decision. Rule
5A:27.
The facts are not in dispute. Claimant's work for employer
required repetitive use of her hands. In April 1994, Dr. G.
Edward Chappell, Jr., an orthopedic surgeon, diagnosed claimant
as suffering from bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome related to her
work. The parties stipulated that claimant had no known exposure
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
to the causes of carpal tunnel syndrome outside of her
employment.
We recently held in Perdue Farms, Inc. v. McCutchan, 21 Va.
App. 65, 69, 461 S.E.2d 431, 433 (1995), that the general medical
definition of carpal tunnel syndrome places it within the
definition of disease set forth in Piedmont Mfg. Co. v. East, 17
Va. App. 499, 503, 438 S.E.2d 769, 772 (1993). As in Perdue,
Hill's condition did not present as an obvious, sudden,
mechanical or structural change in her body. Based upon our
holding in Perdue and upon Dr. Chappell's diagnosis, we conclude
that credible evidence supports the commission's finding that
claimant's carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition characterized as
a "disease" within the meaning of the Workers' Compensation Act.
Accordingly, we affirm the commission's decision.
Affirmed.
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