Opinion
Record No. 2078-93-3
Decided: May 10, 1994
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
Affirmed.
(Monroe Jamison; Penn, Stuart, Eskridge Jones, on briefs), for appellants.
(Gerald F. Sharp; Browning, Morefield, Lamie Sharp, on brief), for appellee.
Present: Judges Benton, Coleman and Willis
Pursuant to Code Sec. 17-116.010 this opinion is not designated for publication.
Clinchfield Coal Company ("employer") contends that the Workers' Compensation Commission erred in finding that (1) Gilbert Mullins sustained an injury by accident arising out of his employment on June 30, 1992; and (2) Mullins's knee injury was causally related to his industrial accident. Upon reviewing the record and the briefs of the parties, we conclude that this appeal is without merit. Accordingly, we summarily affirm the commission's decision. Rule 5A:27.
Background
On June 30, 1992, after pulling cable in employer's mine for approximately fifty minutes, Mullins was sitting on the bottom of the mine floor "just where [he had] been pulling the cable." Mullins testified that he sat with his left foot underneath his buttocks because he was tired and the mine floor was wet. While trying to rise from this position, Mullins experienced an excruciating pain in his left knee. His knee locked when he felt this pain. After a period of time elapsed, he was able to straighten his leg and was carried out of the mine on a wheeled vehicle.
Mullins testified to an incident which occurred just prior to the sitting incident. He was on his knee working and had to jump out of the way of a shuttle car. However, Mullins stipulated at the hearing that he did not sustain any injury as a result of the shuttle car incident, and he did not assert it as part of his claim. Mullins continued to work for one month after the accident. However, his knee continued to lock up and his pain became worse. He was seen in the emergency room of Johnson Memorial Hospital on July 31, 1992. Mullins was referred to Dr. Carey W. McKain, an orthopedic surgeon, for follow-up treatment for possible meniscal trauma. The Attending Physician's Report submitted by the emergency room physician reflects that Mullins gave a history of injuring his left knee on June 30, 1992, when it popped while he was getting up at work.
Dr. McKain first examined Mullins on August 3, 1992, and diagnosed a torn medial meniscus. Dr. McKain subsequently diagnosed a medial meniscus tear and treated it surgically on October 30, 1992. In a January 1, 1993, letter, Dr. McKain opined that Mullins's torn medial meniscus was consistent with his description of the accident. Mullins testified that at his first visit to Dr. McKain, he told him that he hurt his knee when he started to get up from a sitting position at work. Mullins further testified that he told Dr. McKain that he had been sitting on his left leg just before he tried to stand up. Dr. McKain noted in a January 12, 1993, letter that he did not become aware of the shuttle car incident until Mullins told him about it at an October 19, 1992, office visit.
Arising Out Of the Employment
"Whether an injury arises out of the employment is a mixed question of law and fact and is reviewable by the appellate court." Plumb Rite Plumbing Serv. v. Barbour, 8 Va. App. 482, 483, 382 S.E.2d 305, 305 (1989). To recover benefits, Mullins was required to establish that he suffered an injury by accident "arising out of and in the course of his employment," Code Sec. 65.2-101, and "that the conditions of the workplace or some significant work related exertion caused the injury." Barbour, 8 Va. App. at 484, 382 S.E.2d at 306. "The phrase arising 'out of' refers to the origin or cause of the injury." County of Chesterfield v. Johnson, 237 Va. 180, 183, 376 S.E.2d 73, 74 (1989).
The commission found that Mullins established that his injury resulted from an awkward and strenuous movement involved in his employment. The commission noted that it was necessary for Mullins to rest during his work. In order to do this, he was required to sit on his foot to protect his clothing from the dirt and water present in the coal mine. The commission found that Mullins's injury occurred as he attempted to rise after sitting in this position.
Mullins's testimony, which is corroborated by the medical records, constitutes credible evidence to support the commission's factual findings. In addition, this credible evidence supports the conclusion that Mullins's injury was caused by a hazard connected to his employment, which required him to place his body in an awkward position. Mullins's undisputed testimony indicated that he had been pulling cable and that the conditions present within the underground mine, i.e., the water, required that he sit with one leg under his body. It was reasonable for the commission to infer from the evidence that Mullins's work environment, the underground coal mine, was dirty, and that by sitting in this position, he was attempting to protect his clothing from the water and dirt. Accordingly, we cannot say as a matter of law that the commission erred in finding that Mullins's injury arose out of his employment.
Causal Connection
"The actual determination of causation is a factual finding that will not be disturbed on appeal if there is credible evidence to support the finding." Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. Musick, 7 Va. App. 684, 688, 376 S.E.2d 814, 817 (1989). The commission found that Mullins sustained his burden of proving that his torn medial meniscus was causally connected to the sitting incident he described to the emergency room physician and to Dr. McKain.
Credible evidence supports this finding. Nothing indicates that Mullins did not relate the sitting incident to Dr. McKain, who opined that Mullins's description of the accident was consistent with his symptoms. In addition, nothing in the record indicates that Mullins's injury was caused by something other than the event which he described in his testimony. Mullins told Dr. McKain the details of his injury upon his initial office visit. It was not until months later that Dr. McKain became aware of the shuttle car incident. Based upon this record, it can be reasonably inferred that the cause of Mullins's knee injury was the June 30, 1992, sitting incident which occurred at work. "Where reasonable inferences may be drawn from the evidence in support of the commission's factual findings, they will not be disturbed by this Court on appeal." Hawks v. Henrico County Sch. Bd., 7 Va. App. 398, 404, 374 S.E.2d 695, 698 (1988).
For the reasons stated, we affirm the commission's decision.
Affirmed.