United Airlines v. Shirley Komack ( 1996 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Baker, Willis and Annunziata
Argued at Alexandria, Virginia
UNITED AIRLINES
v. Record No. 0510-95-4 MEMORANDUM OPINION *
BY JUDGE JOSEPH E. BAKER
SHIRLEY KOMACK FEBRUARY 6, 1996
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
M. Lynn McHale (Siciliano, Ellis, Dyer &
Boccarosse, on brief), for appellant.
Peter M. Sweeny (Peter M. Sweeny & Associates,
P.C., on brief), for appellee.
In this appeal from a decision of the Workers' Compensation
Commission (commission), United Airlines (employer) contends that
carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is not a disease and, therefore, the
commission erred when it found that it is a compensable disease.
In the alternative, employer argues that the CTS suffered by
Shirley Komack (claimant) was not caused by her employment.
As the parties are familiar with the record, it is not
necessary that we recite facts other than those necessary to show
the reason for this opinion. On the issue of whether CTS is a
disease, Dr. Raymond F. Lower reported that if "disease" is
defined as "any deviation from or interruption of the normal
structure or function of any part, organ, or system (or
combination thereof) of the body that is manifested by a
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
characteristic set of symptoms and signs whose etiology,
pathology, and prognosis may be known or unknown," Sloane-
Dorland Ann. Medical-Legal Dictionary 209 (1987), then claimant's
bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome is a disease. See Perdue Farms,
Inc. v. McCutchan, 21 Va. App. 65, 68, 461 S.E.2d 431, 433
(1995); Piedmont Mfg. Co. v. East, 17 Va. App. 499, 503, 438
S.E.2d 769, 772 (1993) (quoting Sloane-Dorland Ann Medical-Legal
Dictionary 209 (1987)). Based upon those decisions, we hold that
claimant's CTS is an occupational disease that if proved to be
job-related may make claimant eligible for workers' compensation
benefits.
Having first found, as required by Merrillat Industries,
Inc. v. Parks, 246 Va. 429, 432, 436 S.E.2d 600, 601 (1993), that
the evidence supports that CTS is a disease, we turn to the
causation issue alternatively raised by employer. Dr. Lower was
given a job description of the type work claimant performed for
employer as a food service employee, and the doctor reported
that, not being aware of any non-related activities "which
substantially exposed [claimant] to the risk of carpal tunnel
syndrome," he was of the opinion that claimant's CTS was "more
likely than not caused, in whole or in part, by the conditions of
her employment as a Food Service Employee." Although other
medical authorities did not agree with Dr. Lower's opinion, we
hold that the evidence is sufficient to support the commission's
decision.
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Accordingly, we affirm the finding that claimant is entitled
to the benefits provided by the Workers' Compensation Act.
Affirmed.
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