Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. v. Bonnie Lawson

IMPORTANT NOTICE
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED OPINION
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PROMULGATED BY THE SUPREME COURT, CR 76.28(4)(C),
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RENDERED: OCTOBER 29, 2009
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
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2009-SC-000004-WC
HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERIES, INC.
ON APPEAL FROM COURT OF APPEALS
V CASE NO. 2008-CA-001041-WC
WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD NO . 05-00194
BONNIE LAWSON ;
HONORABLE JAMES L. KERR,
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE;
AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD APPELLEES
MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT
AFFIRMING
This appeal is taken from the Court of Appeals' decision to reaffirm an
award of double income benefits under KRS 342 .730(1)(c)2 . The claim involved
the effects of three work-related accidents. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
dismissed the claims for injuries alleged from the first and third accidents but
found the claimant to be partially disabled by a psychological condition that
resulted from a shoulder injury incurred in the second accident. Having found
that she returned to work at the same or a greater wage after the injury, the
ALJ awarded double income benefits.
The employer asserts that the Court of Appeals erred by failing to
remand the claim and direct the ALJ to reconsider the matter of a double
benefit. Arguing that the claimant failed to prove her entitlement, the employer
maintains that the medical evidence related the psychological condition to all of
the alleged injuries and that the claimant returned to work after the last injury
at a wage that was less than when injured.
We affirm . A remand is unnecessary because substantial evidence
related the claimant's psychological condition to the October 2003 shoulder
injury . She returned to work after the shoulder injury earning the same or a
greater wage than at the time of the injury.
The claimant worked in the defendant's distillery as a quality control
inspector on the labeling line . She inspected bottles of various sizes and
removed those that failed to meet specifications . Her application for benefits
alleged a May 6, 2003, low back injury and an October 7, 2003, neck and
shoulder injury . I She moved to amend the claim sometime thereafter to allege
December 16, 2004, hand and wrist injuries and also to allege a psychological
condition that resulted from all of the injuries .
The claimant earned $578 .00 per week on October 7, 2003, and returned
to work at the same or a greater wage . She earned $639 .78 per week on
December 16, 2004, but returned to work at $622 .00 per week.
After reviewing the conflicting lay and medical evidence, the ALJ
determined that claimant failed to prove compensable spine, hand, or wrist
injuries. The ALJ found that she did sustain a shoulder injury but awarded
1 Although medical records refer to an October 7, 2003, neck and shoulder injury, the
parties stipulated to October 27, 2003, as the date. Consistent with the stipulation,
the ALJ stated that the injury occurred on October 27, 2003.
only future medical benefits because no physician testified that the injury
produced a permanent impairment rating. The ALJ also found that the
claimant sustained a psychological injury "related to her physical injury,"
basing the decision on the testimonies of Drs. Allen and Cooley as well as on
pain management records from Flaget Hospital. Having found that the
claimant returned to work at an average weekly wage the same or greater than
she earned when she injured her shoulder and that she was not working
presently, the ALJ awarded a double income benefit based on the 10%
permanent impairment rating that Dr. Allen assigned to the psychological
condition .
Asserting that the Court of Appeals erred by failing to remand the claim
and direct the ALJ to reconsider the award, the employer argues that the
medical evidence related the psychological condition to all of the alleged
injuries. The employer also argues that when read in conjunction with KRS
342.730(1), KRS 342 .730(1)(c)2 requires the cessation of employment to result
from the worker's disability . We disagree with the first argument and decline to
consider the second argument because it was not raised below and is not
properly before the court.
A worker bears the burden of proof and risk of non-persuasion before the
fact-finder with regard to every element of a claim .2 KRS 342 .285 gives an ALJ
the sole discretion to determine the quality, character, and substance of
2 Roark v. Alva Coal Corporation , 371 S.W.2d 856 (Ky. 1963) ; Wolf Creek Collieries v.
Crum, 673 S .W .2d 735 (Ky.App . 1984) ; Snawder v. Stice, 576 S .W.2d 276 (Ky.App.
1979) .
evidence . 3 An ALJ may reject any testimony and believe or disbelieve various
parts of the evidence, regardless of whether it comes from the same witness or
the same adversary party's total proOL 4 Although a party may note evidence
that would have supported a different decision, such evidence is not an
adequate basis for reversal on appeal.5 When the party with the burden of
proof prevails before the ALJ, that party's burden on appeal is to show that
substantial evidence supported the finding, i.e. , that the finding was
reasonable under the evidence. 6
Two medical experts testified in the psychological portion of the claim.
Dr. Allen, a licensed clinical psychologist, testified on the claimant's behalf.
Dr. Cooley, a psychiatrist, testified for the employer . Their testimony provided
substantial evidence to support the ALJ's findings .
Dr. Allen evaluated the claimant in November 2006. He noted that she
gave a history of the work-related accidents and alleged injuries . He also noted
that she reported significant pain-related symptoms, particularly in the past
three years, and that she attributed them "to her occupational accidents." He
assigned a 10% permanent impairment rating based on depression and stated
that no portion of the impairment existed before the injury.
3 Paramount Foods, Inc. v. Burkhardt , 695 S.W.2d 418 (Ky. 1985) .
4 Caudill v. Malonev's Discount Stores , 560 S.W.2d 15, 16 (Ky. 1977) .
5 McCloud v. Beth-Elkhorn Corp. , 514 S .W.2d 46 (Ky. 1974) .
6 Special Fund v. Francis , 708 S.W.2d 641, 643 (Ky. 1986) ; Paramount Foods, Inc. v.
Burkhardt, supra; Mosley v. Ford Motor Co., 968 S.W.2d 675 (Ky. App . 1998) ; REO
Mechanical v. Barnes, 691 S.W .2d 224 (Ky. App. 1985) .
Dr. Cooley evaluated the claimant for the employer in March 2007, after
which he prepared a report and was deposed . His report indicates that the
evaluation pertained to an October 7, 2003, injury. It states subsequently that
the employer asked him to evaluate the claimant "to see if she retains any sort
of permanent psychological impairment as a result of the accident in question,
which occurred on October 7, 2003 . . . ."
The claimant gave Dr. Cooley a history of the May 2003 back injury and
December 2004 hand and wrist injury as well as of the October 2003 neck and
shoulder injury. He noted that she reported experiencing sharp pain in her
right shoulder as she bent over to pick up a bottle off the assembly line . He
also noted that Drs. Malik, Hagan, and Shea treated the injury and that Dr.
Geevarghese eventually provided injections for pain . Nonetheless, shoulder
pain continued to wake her at night. He assigned a 10% impairment rating
based on mild depression that was "caused by the accident in question" and
recommended medication . He stated when deposed that the claimant's
physical pain helped to cause her depression and that the severity of her
depression increased with the severity of her pain. He also stated that
technically she was not at maximum medical improvement (MMI) because her
depression would probably lessen if treated with medication.
Records from Flaget Hospital Pain Management indicated that claimant
reported no low back, cervical, or hand complaints but did complain of
shoulder pain. Dr. Geevarghese administered at least one injection for what he
diagnosed as myofascial pain . In his opinion she had greater psychological
than physiological problems .
Considered as a whole, the lay and medical evidence supported the
finding that the claimant's psychological condition resulted from her shoulder
injury. Substantial evidence indicated that the first and third accidents did not
produce the alleged spine, hand, and wrist injuries . Although Dr. Allen related
the psychological condition to all of the injuries, pain management records
from Flaget Hospital indicate that the claimant attributed her ongoing pain and
discomfort to the shoulder injury. Likewise, Dr. Cooley clearly attributed the
condition to the shoulder injury. The ALJ did not err by awarding a double
benefit because the claimant returned to work after the shoulder injury earning
the same or a greater wage than she earned at the time of the injury .
The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed .
All sitting. All concur.
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT,
HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERIES, INC . :
Walter Elliott Harding
Boehl, Stopher, 8& Graves, LLP
2300 Aegon Center
400 W. Market Street
Louisville, KY 40202-3351
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE,
BONNIE LAWSON :
Ben Thomas Haydon, Jr.
118 E . Broadway
P.O. Box 1155
Bardstown, KY 40004