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Osburn v. Department of Parks & Tourism2/20/2002
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
Troy Osburn appeals the decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission, which found that he failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he sustained a compensable injury to his back while employed by appellees, Department of Parks & Tourism and Public Employee Claims Division. He asserts on appeal that the Commission's decision is not supported by substantial evidence. We affirm.
Appellant worked as a maintenance person for the Parks & Tourism Department at the Prairie Grove Battlefield. On March 20, 2000, appellant used a stump grinder machine to grind stumps along Highway 62. He testified that a hitch pin linking the equipment broke, which resulted in his lifting the tongue of the machine onto a tractor. The tongue weighed approximately 150 pounds, and appellant had no assistance. After he lifted the tongue of the machine, appellant continued to work. He went home at the end of his shift, and later that evening or the following day developed low back pain. The following day, appellant attended his father-in-law's funeral. While there, he talked with his supervisor, Jeff Hart. Appellant told Hart that his back was hurting; however, he did not request medical attention or tell Hart that he hurt his back at work when he lifted the tongue of the stump grinder machine.
Appellant continued to work, although he would periodically tell Hart or Ed Smith, the park superintendent, that his back was hurting. On April 9, 2000, appellant went to the emergency room of Washington Regional Medical Center, and sought treatment for his back. The medical records from appellant's visit indicate that appellant sought relief from lower back pain that had been ongoing for several weeks and that had intensified within the last several days. The record, completed by Dr. Sammy Turner, states, "he reports his pain in the low back area is actually improved somewhat in the last day. He is taking some Celebrex anti-inflammatory. He denies any particular new injury. He did have a "fracture of the back" many years ago, question compression or other from a fall." An x-ray report revealed mild narrowing of the L-4/5 disc space level.
A thoracic spine MRI, taken April 10, 2001, revealed the following:
degenerative disc disease with desiccation and loss of vertical height from T6 to T10. Mild depression of the superior end plate of T7 suggesting old injury. Mild disc bulging at T7-T8 and T8-T9. No demonstration of transligamentous HNP or extruded disc fragment.
A lumbar spine MRI, performed on the same date, revealed "moderate to large sized right sided L-4/5 HNP with free fragment that has dissected superior posterior to the body of L-4. No other demonstration of HNP or free fragment." Also, a note from Dr. Adkins, dated April 12, 2000, mentions that appellant's "problem began approximately three weeks ago grinding stumps at work."
Following his emergency room visit, appellant went to his family physician and received a referral to Dr. Vincent Runnels. Dr. Runnels prescribed conservative treatment, and returned appellant to light duty work on April 17, 2000, with the following limitations: no lifting, no bending, no twisting, no overhead work, desk work only, no riding tractors or lawn mowers. He also advised appellant to seek a less strenuous form of work.
On June 13, 2000, appellant completed an injury report. He continued to receive treatment from Dr. Runnels, who released him from treatment on August 7, 2000, and assigned a 5% permanent disability. Appellant subsequently filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits, seeking temporary total disability benefits from April 9, 2000, thr
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