City of Roanoke v. Ronald F. Renick

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Fitzpatrick, Overton and Senior Judge Hodges
Argued at Salem, Virginia
CITY OF ROANOKE
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 2643-95-3 JUDGE NELSON T. OVERTON
JULY 2, 1996
RONALD F. RENICK
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
Steven J. Talevi, Assistant City Attorney
(Wilburn C. Dibling, Jr., City Attorney, on
briefs), for appellant.
Mary L. Poletti (Brumberg, Mackey & Wall,
P.L.C., on brief), for appellee.
The Workers' Compensation Commission awarded benefits to the
claimant, Ronald F. Renick, for his condition of esophageal
motility disorder resulting from extreme stress in his
employment. Renick's employer appeals, challenging both the
classification of his condition as an occupational disease and
the causal link to his employment.
The parties are fully conversant with the record to this
case, and a recitation of the facts is unnecessary to this
memorandum opinion.
Renick's condition was established as a disease. All
medical records as well as the medical literature demonstrate
that the treating doctors as well as the medical community
believe this to be a disease. This classification is a medical
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
issue to be decided by the trier of fact based on evidence at the
hearing. Knott v. Blue Bell, Inc., 7 Va. App. 335, 338, 373
S.E.2d 481, 483 (1988).
Renick's employment caused the stress that triggered his
condition. No other source of stress was noted or argued by
either doctors or counsel. The treating specialists ruled out
other causes and came to the conclusion that stress caused his
condition. "[A] determination of causation is a factual
finding." Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. Musick, 7 Va. App. 684, 688, 376
S.E.2d 814, 817 (1989).
We find that credible evidence supports the commission's
findings, and we will not disturb them on appeal. The decision
of the commission is affirmed.
Affirmed.
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