Opinion
Record No. 1409-94-3
Decided: February 7, 1995
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
(Jonathan M. Apgar; Damico Apgar, on brief), for appellant.
(Richard D. Lucas; Woods, Rogers Hazlegrove, on brief), for appellees.
Present: Judges Benton, Coleman and Willis
Pursuant to Code Sec. 17-116.010 this opinion is not designated for publication.
Linda H. Wells contends that the Workers' Compensation Commission erred by finding that she failed to prove that the weakness she suffers on the right side of her body is a compensable consequence of her January 24, 1990, 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.
On appellate review, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the party prevailing below. R.G. Moore Bldg. Corp. v. Mullins, 10 Va. App. 211, 212, 390 S.E.2d 788, 788 (1990). "[I]t is fundamental that a finding of fact made by the Commission is conclusive and binding upon this court on review. A question raised by conflicting medical opinion is a question of fact." Commonwealth v. Powell, 2 Va. App. 712, 714, 347 S.E.2d 532, 533 (1986).
On January 24, 1990, while working for employer, Wells was struck in the left temple by a five-pound fiber optic spool. Wells was initially treated by Dr. Darrell F. Powledge, who diagnosed a "contusion [to the left temporal area] without evidence of serious injury." During her next ten office visits to Dr. Powledge, Wells complained of migraine-type headaches and neck pain. Employer accepted her claim as compensable and an award was entered.
On April 9, 1990, Wells told Dr. Powledge that she had taken a step backwards while at work that morning and felt acute pain in her lower back. An MRI revealed a herniated disc at the C6-C7 level. Dr. Powledge referred Wells to Dr. Ward W. Stevens, who removed a herniated disc and performed a cervical laminotomy. When Wells continued to complain of pain in her low back, right hip, leg and right upper extremity, Dr. Stevens referred Wells to Dr. Cecil B. Knox, III, a physiatrist. Dr. Knox treated her for three years.
Wells testified that on February 25, 1993, her right leg gave out at home and she started to fall. She caught herself with her left hand, because her right arm was useless, and fractured her left wrist. When Wells went to the emergency room, she did not report that she had back, arm, or leg pain. She gave no reason for the fall.
In denying Wells' application, the commission found that Dr. Knox's treatment was not reasonable or necessary. Wells did not appeal this finding. In holding that Wells failed to prove that the February 25, 1993, fall was a compensable consequence of the January 24, 1990, industrial injury, the commission found that the medical records did not indicate any connection between Wells' right leg symptoms and the January 24, 1990, head and neck injury.
The evidence proved that Wells suffered from right leg pain since the 1970's, that she did not complain of lower back pain until April 1990, and that she did not report back, leg, or arm pain as the cause of her February 25, 1993, fall. Although Dr. Knox opined that Wells' "long history of breakaway weakness with sudden, unexpected falls" was secondary to her chronic pain syndrome, the record proved that in the 1970's, Wells underwent low back surgery and had experienced subjective numbness in the right leg and foot since that time. This evidence, along with Dr. Andrew Cepulo's opinion that Wells' symptoms could not be attributed to the January 1990 injury supports the commission's decision. Accordingly, we cannot say as a matter of law that Wells' evidence sustained her burden of proving that her right side weakness was a compensable consequence of her January 24, 1990, injury by accident.
For the reasons stated, we affirm the commission's decision.
Affirmed.