Opinion
CASE NO. 609 CRD-7-87
JUNE 9, 1989
The claimant was represented by Joseph Dimyan, Esq.
The respondents were represented by Jason Dodge, Esq., Pomeranz, Drayton Stabnick.
This Petition for Review from the June 23, 1987 Finding and Dismissal of the Commissioner for the Seventh District was heard December 2, 1988 before a Compensation Review Division panel consisting of the Commission Chairman, John Arcudi, and Commissioners Andrew Denuzze and Frank Verrilli.
OPINION
Claimant's appeal seeks to reverse the Seventh District June 23, 1987 Finding and Dismissal. The appeal is defective in that no Reasons of Appeal have been filed, Adm. Reg. Sec. 31-301-2. The matter is therefore subject to dismissal.
But even on the merits claimant has failed to show any basis for reversal of the trial Commissioner. She sought below to prove that the disabling pterygium condition in both eyes resulted from occupational exposure to various dusts. As evidence she presented letters from the treating ophthalmologist, Dr. R.M. Fasanella. Parts of those communications state:
At the time of her examination with us, the exact cause of the pterygium was not able to be ascertained. Jan spent several hours a day exposed to dust and molding compound while working at Winchester, and it is quite possible that this is what caused her problems. It is well documented that this can be a cause of pterygiums. Dr. Richard Mangi, an allergist, ruled out allergy to the dust as a cause of her problems in 1982. However, the irritation of the dust and molding compound may still have caused the pterygiums.
Whether the claimant's pterygium arose in and out of the course of employment is a determination which rests largely on the factual findings of the trial Commissioner. Herbst v. Hat Corporation of America, 130 Conn. 1, 4 (1943). A finding as to the causal connection and employment must be based on reasonable medical probabilities. Madore v. New Departure Mfg. Co., 104 Conn. 709 (1926); Aurora v. Miami Plumbing Heating, Inc., 6 Conn. App. 45 (1986) (per curiam) aff'g, 2 Conn.
Workers' Comp. Rev. Op. 113, 238 CRD-7-83 (1984). Therefore, the narrow issue here is whether Dr. Fasanella's statements demonstrated with reasonable medical probability that the pterygium resulted from work conditions. The commissioner did not so conclude.
Reaching that conclusion on the evidence presented was within the trial Commissioner's discretion. See Debarros v. A.L. Singleton, 6 Conn. Workers' Comp. Rev. Op. 22, 498 CRD-5-86 citing Healy v. White, 173 Conn. 438, 443 (1977). Given that principle the result must stand unless derived from an incorrect application of the law or based on illegal or impermissible factual inferences. Fair v. People's Savings Bank, 207 Conn. 535 (1988). We do not so find.
We, therefore, affirm the trial Commissioner's Finding and Dismissal.
Commissioners Andrew Denuzze and Frank Verrilli concur.