Bryson v. Phil Cline Trucking6/18/2002
ought, prosecuted, or defended without reasonable ground[.]" N.C. Gen. Stat. ยง 97-88.1 (2001). The purpose of this section is to "prevent `stubborn, unfounded litigiousness' which is inharmonious with the primary purpose of the Workers' Compensation Act to provide compensation to injured employees." Beam v. Floyd's Creek Baptist Church, 99 N.C. App. 767, 768, 394 S.E.2d 191, 192 (1990) (quoting Sparks v. Mountain Breeze Restaurant, 55 N.C. App. 663, 664, 286 S.E.2d 575, 576 (1982)). The Commission, therefore, may assess the entire cost of litigation, including attorneys' fees, against any party who prosecutes or defends a hearing without reasonable grounds. See Troutman v. White & Simpson, Inc., 121 N.C. App. 48, 54, 464 S.E.2d 481, 485 (1995), disc. review denied, 343 N.C. 516, 472 S.E.2d 26 (1996). "The decision of whether to make such an award, and the amount of the award, is in the discretion of the Commission, and its award or denial of an award will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion." Id. at 54-55, 464 S.E.2d at 486. An abuse of discretion results only where a decision is "`manifestly unsupported by reason or is so arbitrary that it could not have been the result of a reasoned decision.'" Long v. Harris, 137 N.C. App. 461, 464-65, 528 S.E.2d 633, 635 (2000) (quoting State v. Hennis, 323 N.C. 279, 285, 372 S.E.2d 523, 527 (1988)). With this standard in mind, we examine plaintiff's assignments of error. Plaintiff's Appeal
Plaintiff first contends that the Commission erred as a matter of law in considering certain factors in determining whether to award attorneys' fees to plaintiff. Specifically, plaintiff objects to the following two findings by the Commission: (1) that " orsal column stimulators are controversial and expensive" and that (2) "Defendant had a reasonable basis to question the efficacy of a dorsal column stimulator in this case." Plaintiff asserts that these findings are unsupported by any evidence in the record and as such, cannot support the Commission's decision concerning the attorneys' fees awarded to plaintiff. We disagree.
Although the Commission found that the requested medical treatment was "controversial and expensive" and that defendants' initial questioning of its efficacy was reasonable, the Commission further found that "at some point prior to the hearing before the deputy commissioner, defendant did not make sufficient efforts to substantiate its opposition to this form of treatment." The Commission also found that "Defendant has not offered sufficient medical evidence to contradict Dr. Gooding's recommendation that the stimulator is reasonable and necessary to attempt to control plaintiff's pain[,]" and further that, "Defendant's continued refusal to authorize the treatment with the dorsal column stimulator, and to force the issue to a hearing, constituted unfounded litigiousness." The Commission therefore concluded that, "Plaintiff is entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee as a result of defendant's unfounded litigiousness in the amount of $2,500.00, and expenses in the amount of $448.64."
Plaintiff has not shown that the findings to which he objects played any role, significant or otherwise, in the Commission's decision to award attorneys' fees in the amount of $2,500.00. Although the Commission found that plaintiff's medical treatment was controversial and expensive, this statement appears to primarily relate to the Commission's next sentence in the same finding, which states that "Defendant had a reasonable basis to question the efficacy of a dorsal column stimulator in this case." Despite these findings, however, the Commission made numerous additional findings condemning defendants' subsequent behavior, ultimately concluding that
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