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Weidenhammer v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board2/27/2002
Submitted: January 25, 2002
OPINION NOT REPORTED
Patricia Weidenhammer (Claimant) appeals pro se from an order of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Board) affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) denying her workers' compensation benefits because she failed to establish by substantial evidence that she sustained a work- related disability.
On January 10, 1995, Claimant began her employment with Children's Home of Reading (Employer) as a childcare worker. On January 11, 1995, Claimant was involved in an altercation with a child which resulted in her seeking medical treatment for complaints of pain in her spinal area. Although missing one day of work as a result of the incident, Claimant returned to her position with Employer and continued working until she was terminated in March 1995 for her failure to properly supervise child clients. On July 21, 1997, Claimant filed a claim petition alleging that she suffered a work-related injury to her entire spinal area, including her cervical, thorax and lumbar areas from the 1995 incident.
Before the WCJ, Claimant testified that while escorting several children to Employer's dining area, she entered the kitchen, turned around and a child spat in her face and knocked her to the ground. When she got to her feet, she went to the dining room where the child again knocked her to the ground, shoving her head forward and pulling her shirt backward. Claimant stated that she reported the incident to her supervisor and subsequently sought treatment at the Reading Hospital as she began feeling pain in her entire spinal area. Claimant testified that she missed only one day of work as a result of the incident, and continued to work in her part-time cleaning business as well as for Employer until her termination in March 1995. Subsequent to her termination and at the time of the hearing, Claimant was employed in various cleaning positions with other employers.
As to the medical treatment that she received as a result of the 1995 incident, Claimant testified that she initially sought treatment for her injuries from several health care providers, including Eric K. Holm, M.D. (Dr. Holm), who had treated Claimant since 1985 for various other back injuries. As of February 2, 1998, Claimant stated that she was no longer treating with Dr. Holm and was only seeing him on an as-needed basis. Claimant testified that prior to working for Employer, she had sustained several work-related injuries with other employers which resulted in significant back pain and two back surgeries. She further stated that she was receiving chiropractic treatment for her back pain up until the time of her January 11, 1995 work injury, and admitted that she had experienced pain in her lower back since 1987. Claimant testified that she was still experiencing pain in her lower back region and wished to continue treatment because of her spinal problems.
Dr. Holm also testified stating that he began treating Claimant in 1985 for various back-related problems involving work injuries she had sustained prior to 1995 at her previous positions, and noted that as best as he could determine, because she had returned to work in 1995, Claimant had fully recovered from those injuries. Dr. Holm stated that he first treated Claimant for the 1995 incident in October 1996, at which time she complained of pain throughout her entire spinal area. Dr. Holm opined that Claimant had sustained injuries to her neck and low back region, and because of her consistent complaints of pain, he did not feel she had fully recovered from her 1995 injuries.
On cross-examination, Dr. Holm acknowledged that after seeing Claimant again in 1
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