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Barnes v. Alma School District9/19/2001
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART
Appellant Sharrion Barnes appeals the order entered by the Workers' Compensation Commission denying her additional benefits regarding an injury sustained in the course and scope of her employment with appellee Alma School District. She argues that the Commission erred in the following ways: (1) in granting appellee a $950 credit for temporary disability benefits paid between August 19, 1998 and October 27, 1998; (2) in denying appellant additional temporary total disability benefits from and after January 6, 1999; and (3) in finding appellant's current right shoulder problems to be non-compensable and unrelated to her admittedly compensable right elbow injury. We affirm as to points one and three; we reverse and remand as to point two.
Our standard of review is well settled. On appeal, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commission's decision and affirm if the decision is supported by substantial evidence. Frances v. Gaylord Container Corp., 341 Ark. 527, 20 S.W.3d 280 (2000). Evidence is substantial if reasonable minds could reach the same conclusion on the same facts. Id. When the Commission denies benefits because the claimant has failed to meet his burden of proof, we affirm the Commission's decision if the decision displays a substantial basis for the denial of relief. Id. The issue is not whether the appellate court might have reached a different result or whether the evidence would have supported a contrary finding; if reasonable minds could reach the Commission's conclusion, we must affirm. Continental Express, Inc. v. Freeman, 66 Ark. App. 102, 989 S.W.2d 538 (1999). Moreover, the Commission has the authority to accept or reject medical opinions, and its resolution of the medical evidence has the force and effect of a jury verdict. Gansky v. Hi-Tech Eng'g, 52 Ark. App. 147, 916 S.W.2d 124 (1996).
The evidence presented to the Commission revealed the following events. Appellant began working for appellee as a school bus driver in 1992, eventually taking an additional position as a custodian/maintenance worker. She is right-hand dominant. The bus driver job was contracted as a school-year job that ran from August to May of each year. The custodian/maintenance job was a continuous year- round job; the cleaning services were rendered during the school year, and maintenance was performed after school recessed for the summer.
Appellant injured her right shoulder at work on June 3, 1996, when she slipped and fell while washing the roof of a school bus, breaking her fall by grabbing the emergency hatch. She was treated for this injury on June 6 by Dr. Bishop, her family doctor. She was placed on light-duty for a week or two. She did not return for any follow-up visits because her shoulder did not bother her any more. No further workers' compensation benefits were paid on this shoulder injury, and she returned to work.
Another work-related injury was sustained the following year on July 28, 1997, while appellant was remodeling the school bathrooms. She picked up a commode in order to move it to a table when it slipped out of her hands; she caught it before it hit the floor. She hurt her right elbow in that incident. Though she worked light-duty for a while post- injury, she was off work and was paid temporary total disability benefits (TTD) from September 20, 1997, through the date of tendon- release surgery performed on March 5, 1998. Appellant's complaint of right shoulder stiffness and pain was recorded in the medical records for the first time in April 1998. Appellant was released from treatment regarding her right elbow on July 8, 199
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