DocketNumber: I.C. NO. 461386.
Judges: <center> OPINION AND AWARD for the Full Commission by DIANNE C. SELLERS, Commissioner, N.C. Industrial Commission.</center>
Filed Date: 3/15/2007
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
2. All parties have been correctly designated and there is no question as to misjoinder or nonjoinder of parties.
3. On or about April 1, 2004, the parties were bound by and subject to the provisions of the North Carolina Worker's Compensation Act.
4. On or about April 1, 2004, there existed between plaintiff and defendant-employer an employee/employer relationship.
5. On or about April 1, 2004, defendant-employer was insured for Workers' Compensation claims through North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company.
6. Plaintiff's average weekly wage will be determined by a Form 22 provided by the parties, by stipulation of the parties, or from other wage information provided by the parties.
7. A packet containing the pre-trial agreement, the stipulated medical records of Drs. Gilbert Alligood, Jeffrey Silver, Eric Breastel, and Bennie Jarvis, Industrial Commission Forms, plaintiff's recorded statement, plaintiff's answers to defendants' first set of interrogatories, and plaintiff's wage information was stipulated into the record.
3. Plaintiff has worked in a single story double wide pre-manufactured structure since 1997.
4. Plaintiff contends she developed respiratory problems in April 2004 as a result of alleged mold exposure at her workplace. Plaintiff believes she was exposed to toxic levels of mold, placing her at an increased risk of developing occupational asthma, based on her observations of her work environment and her subjective belief regarding toxicity.
5. The only scientific evidence in the record regarding levels of mold within plaintiff's work area is found in defendants' Exhibit #1, the Investigative Engineering Report, prepared on June 15, 2005 by Marshall Miller and Associates. Dr. Jerry J. Tulis, an expert in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, analyzed this report as well as plaintiff's medical records from 2000 to 2005 and indicated that the mold spore count inside Pretty Good Sand Company's building were actually lower than that found in the air outside of the building. The undersigned finds the testimony of Dr. Tulis to be both competent and compelling regarding the issue of increased risk.
6. Plaintiff treated with Dr. Jeffrey A. Silver of the Tarboro Clinic for her pulmonary issues. In his deposition, Dr. Silver was asked whether he had an opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, as to whether plaintiff's exposure to mold at her work environment exposed her to an increased risk of developing or aggravating her asthma. Dr. Silver opined that it would place her at an increased risk. *Page 4
7. The undersigned finds Dr. Silver to be a credible witness. However, the underlying foundation for his medical opinion assumes plaintiff was exposed to a mold spore count inside Pretty Good Sand Company's building which was greater than that to which the general public was exposed; a fact which has not been proven by plaintiff's evidence. The undersigned assigns no weight to Dr. Silver's opinion as to whether plaintiff's exposure to mold at her work environment exposed her to an increased risk of developing or aggravating her asthma.
2. Plaintiff has the burden of proving all three of these elements by a preponderance of the competent evidence. Phillips v. U.S. Air,Inc.,
3. Plaintiff has not proven that she developed occupational asthma from mold exposure or any other source as the competent evidence fails to show that her employment *Page 5
caused or significantly contributed to the development of her asthmatic condition nor has she proven that her employment exposed her to a greater risk of contracting occupational asthma than the public generally. Perry v. Burlington Indus., Inc.,
2. Each side shall pay its own cost.
This the 28th day of February, 2007.
S/________________________ DIANNE C. SELLERS COMMISSIONER
CONCURRING:
*Page 1S/__________________________ BUCK LATTIMORE CHAIRMAN
S/__________________________ LAURA KRANIFELD MAVRETIC COMMISSIONER