Moore v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board8/9/2000
Submitted: June 2, 2000
Robin Moore (Claimant) petitions for review of that portion of an order of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB) which affirmed a decision of the workers' compensation judge (WCJ) to terminate Claimant's workers' compensation benefits as of August 31, 1994.
On April 6, 1992, Claimant sustained a work-related injury while employed with American Sintered Technologies, Inc. (Employer). Employer paid benefits to Claimant pursuant to a Notice of Compensation Payable, which described Claimant's injury as "acute lumbar strain." On April 11, 1994, Employer filed a Termination Petition alleging that, as of April 5, 1994, Claimant's work-related disability had ceased. Claimant filed a timely Answer denying the averments contained in the Termination Petition. (WCJ's Findings of Fact, Nos. 1- 3).
At the hearings on Employer's Termination Petition, Claimant testified on her own behalf and described her work injury. Claimant testified that she was rolling a barrel and tried unsuccessfully to catch it as it slipped; as the barrel fell, she fell with it, falling to her knees. Claimant stated she could not stand up after falling and that she was taken by ambulance to the emergency room. (WCJ's Findings of Fact, Nos. 4-6.)
Claimant also testified about her medical history, specifically, her history of scoliosis. She stated that she had a spinal fusion in 1985, requiring the placement of a Harrington rod in her back. She testified that, in 1989, the Harrington rod came loose, tenting her skin. As a result, her treating physician, Robert S. Supinski, M.D., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, performed an operation to slide the rod out from under her skin. Claimant stated that, after this surgery, she had no further low back pain until the work-related accident on April 6, 1992. (WCJ's Findings of Fact, Nos. 8-9, 12.)
Claimant also offered the testimony of Dr. Supinski. During his December 28, 1994 testimony, Dr. Supinski stated that he first treated Claimant for scoliosis when she was fourteen years old. (R.R. at 90a.) He explained that he performed a spinal fusion with a Harrington rod in 1985, but that, in 1986, x-rays revealed that the rod had loosened, requiring removal in 1989 due to Claimant's increased pain and discomfort. (R.R. at 90a-91a.) Dr. Supinski testified that Claimant returned to his office on two occasions after removal of the rod: once in June of 1989 for follow-up care from her surgery and once in October of 1990, when she complained of burning pain in her upper back. (R.R. at 91a.) Dr. Supinski stated that he did not treat Claimant again until April of 1992, following her work-related injury. At that time, he compared Claimant's pre-injury x-rays to those taken after her April 1992 injury, and he concluded that Claimant had fractured a previously solid fusion at L4-L5 in the fall at work. (WCJ's Findings of Fact, No. 10; R.R. at 92a-95a.) Dr. Supinski performed surgery to re-fuse the L4-L5 interspace on February 25, 1993. (WCJ's Findings of Fact, No. 11.) Prior to his December 28, 1994 testimony, Dr. Supinski last examined Claimant on August 31, 1994; Dr. Supinski testified that, as of the date of this examination, Claimant had fully recovered from the work-related injury and that her continuing complaints were related to her scoliosis condition and the treatment for that condition. (WCJ's Findings of Fact, No. 21; R.R. at 101a-04a, 116a-17a.)
For its part, Employer offered the testimony of David H. Johe, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Johe testified regarding his review of Claimant's medical records as well as his examination of Claimant on November 23, 1993. Dr. Johe testified that Claimant's 1985 su
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