State Farm Insurance v. Earl Wayne Hancock

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Chief Judge Moon, Judges Coleman and Willis
Argued at Salem, Virginia
STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANY
and CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 2646-96-3 JUDGE SAM W. COLEMAN III
JULY 1, 1997
EARL WAYNE HANCOCK
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
Glenn S. Phelps (Ruth Nathanson; Midkiff &
Hiner, P.C., on brief), for appellants.
Richard M. Thomas (Rider, Thomas, Cleaveland,
Ferris & Eakin, on brief), for appellee.
State Farm Insurance Company and its insurer (employer)
appeal the decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission
denying employer's application for termination of the claimant's
disability benefits on the ground that the claimant's genetic
disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, was the sole cause of his
continued disability. Finding no error, we affirm the
commission's decision.
When viewed in the light most favorable to the claimant as
the prevailing party, the evidence proves that the claimant
sustained an injury by accident to his left leg. The parties
entered into a Memorandum of Agreement granting the claimant
temporary total disability benefits for a "left sciatic contusion
-- deep vein thrombosis left leg." Approximately two years
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
later, the claimant was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth
disease, a rare hereditary disorder which is a chronic nerve
tissue disease which eventually leads to muscular paralysis and
atrophy. See The Sloane-Dorland Ann. Medical-Legal Dictionary 71
(1987). The employer filed a change of condition application
alleging that the claimant's continuing disability was unrelated
to his industrial accident.
"In an application for review of any award on the ground of
change in condition, the burden is on the party alleging such
change to prove his allegations by a preponderance of the
evidence." Pilot Freight Carriers, Inc. v. Reeves, 1 Va. App.
435, 438-39, 339 S.E.2d 570, 572 (1986). Upon appellate review,
questions raised by conflicting medical opinions are questions of
fact to be determined by the commission. See Penley v. Island
Creek Coal Co., 8 Va. App. 310, 318, 381 S.E.2d 231, 236 (1989).
"[W]here the commission resolves the conflict in medical
testimony, . . . the commission's decision is binding so long as
it is supported by credible evidence." Stancill v. Ford Motor
Co., 15 Va. App. 54, 58, 421 S.E.2d 872, 874 (1992).
Here, the commission's decision was based upon credible
evidence in the record. Dr. Eckert, the claimant's treating
physician, opined that the Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome was a
pre-existing condition and that the claimant's "prolonged and
paradoxical recovery" from his work-related injury was
complicated by the syndrome. He also was of the opinion that
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both the syndrome and the injury "played a part in [the
claimant's] disability." Dr. Davidson, a vascular surgeon,
opined that the claimant had not sufficiently recovered from his
deep vein thrombosis and sciatica to be able to perform his job.
Dr. Widmeyer, an orthopedist, indicated that the claimant's
residual pain was caused by a combination of the
Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome and the deep vein thrombosis caused
by his industrial accident. Where a claimant's ongoing
disability has two causes, one of which relates to employment and
one unrelated, the claimant is entitled to full benefits.
Bergmann v. L & W Drywall, 222 Va. 30, 32, 278 S.E.2d 801, 803
(1981).
Although several other doctors stated that the claimant's
continuing disability resulted solely from the
Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, credible evidence supports the
commission's factual finding and we are bound by that finding on
appeal. Therefore, we affirm the commission's decision.
Affirmed.
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