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Chik-Fil-A v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board2/25/2002
SUBMITTED: March 30, 2001
Chik-Fil-A (Employer) petitions for review of an order of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Board), which affirmed the decision of a Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) that had granted the claim petition filed on behalf of Margaret Mollick (Claimant).
The issues on appeal are (1) whether a WCJ lacks jurisdiction, within the framework of a claim petition proceeding under the Workers' Compensation Act (Act), to determine the reasonableness and necessity of Claimant's medical treatment where no utilization review request has been filed; (2) whether the absence of a complete medical history renders the testimony of Claimant's medical expert incompetent; and (3) whether substantial evidence supported an award of total disability benefits where claimant was cleared by her physician to work part-time.
Claimant worked for Employer as a food preparer and Senior Team Supervisor at Employer's Greengate and Westmoreland Mall locations for seven years until she sustained a low back injury on January 30, 1997, while lifting a tub of cabbage preparatory to making coleslaw. At the time of her injury, Claimant was employed as a permanent part-time (less than 40 hours per week) employee and had an average weekly wage of $213.47. She filed a claim petition on March 13, 1997, alleging total disability from the date of the injury. Employer filed an answer on May 2, 1997, denying all material allegations, and hearings were held before a WCJ from May 16, 1997 through May 18, 1998.
Claimant testified on her own behalf and stated that she experienced a sharp pain across her low back when she lifted a tub of cabbage and could not move. She confirmed that the tub of cabbage weighed approximately fifteen pounds, and further stated that she had never experienced back pain of this sort before. She indicated that she notified her manager and waited until her husband came to pick her up, whereupon she sought treatment with a chiropractor at Jeannette Chiropractic, by whom she had never before been treated, because she could be seen right away, as well as with her family physician, Jill Constantine, M.D. Unhappy with the treatment provided by Jeannette Chiropractic, she sought treatment from Kenneth A. Iles, D.C., of Pedrow's Chiropractic the following day, and continued to treat with Dr. Iles for the duration of the claim period.
Claimant also testified that she had suffered a previous back injury from a fall at work sometime around 1995, and that she had been seen by a different chiropractor for back pain several months before the current injury. She testified that she attempted to return to work with Employer for a two-hour shift after the January 30, 1997 accident, after being released to light-duty, but experienced pain and spasms in her back. She did not return to her scheduled shifts and has not worked since that time, believing that there is no work that Employer can offer her that she can do. She conceded, however, that she did not inform Employer that her back hurt or ask for any modification in her duties.
At a subsequent hearing on May 18, 1998, Employer established, through cross-examination, that Claimant had actually been treating with other chiropractors for back and neck problems since 1987. Claimant admitted to seeing a Dr. Dent some fourteen times during the period from October 23, 1987 through September 29, 1993, although she professed an inability to remember any of the details of those visits. Claimant also indicated that she had seen a Dr. Kevin Griven previous to the January 30, 1997 incident and had been seeing a Dr. Grennan since August of 1997.
Claimant also offered the deposition testimony of Dr.
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