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MINNESOTA MINING & MFG. v. BAKER3/25/1999
This case is before us on petition for review from the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Appellants, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing (3M) and Old Republic Insurance Company, appealed the Workers' Compensation Commission's decision that Theodore Baker is entitled to disability benefits for an occupational noise-induced hearing loss. For reversal, appellants contended that the Commission's finding that appellee sustained a compensable hearing loss is not supported by substantial evidence and that appellee's claim is barred by the statute of limitation. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Commission's decision, concluding that substantial evidence existed to support the Commission's finding that appellee proved his hearing loss was caused by his employment and that the statute of limitation cannot apply to scheduled injuries involving hearing loss where there is no loss of wages. Minnesota Mining & Mfg. v. Baker, 63 Ark. App. 160, 975 S.W.2d 863 (1998).
The appellants petitioned this Court for review, contending that only the General Assembly can create a statute of limitation and only the General Assembly can exempt a subset of cases from the statute of limitation. Appellants assert that the legislature did not exempt scheduled injury hearing loss workers' compensation claims from the applicable statute of limitation, nor does a reading of the statute and cases interpreted mandate such a result. Appellants assert that to hold otherwise will subject the Workers' Compensation Commission and courts to a flood of stale cases where
claims are brought for no reason other than a retroactive change in law. Given the specific facts presented in this case, we agree.
Baker's employment with appellant 3M began on August 18, 1977, and continues. On February 23, 1978, a baseline hearing test was administered to appellee, the results of which demonstrated significant bilateral hearing deficiencies. Appellee underwent subsequent tests that demonstrated no clinically significant decrease in hearing from the February 1978 baseline test through the time he filed his claim in February 1992.
Appellants contend that the Commission's finding that Baker sustained a compensable hearing loss is not supported by substantial evidence and that it is further barred by the applicable two-year statute of limitation. We granted appellant's petition for review because this case presents an opportunity to address the statute-of-limitation issue with regard to claims for work-related injuries where no loss of wages occurred. We also address whether there is substantial evidence to support the Commission's determination that Theodore Baker's injury was compensable.
[1, 2] It is well settled that upon a petition for review, we consider the case as though it were originally filed in this Court. ERC Contractor Yard & Sales v. Robertson, 335 Ark. 63, 977 S.W.2d 212 (1998); Frette v. City of Springdale, 331 Ark. 103, 959 S.W.2d 734 (1998); Travis v. State, 331 Ark. 7, 959 S.W.2d 32 (1998). On appeal of a workers' compensation case from the Court of Appeals to this Court, we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the Commission's decision, and we uphold that decision if it is supported by substantial evidence. Ester v. National Home Centers, Inc., 335 Ark. 356, 981 S.W.2d 91 (1998); Golden v. Westark Community College, 333 Ark. 41, 969 S.W.2d 154 (1998); Olsten Kimberly Quality Care v. Pettey, 328 Ark. 381, 944 S.W.2d 524 (1997). Substantial evidence exists if reasonable minds could reach the same conclusion. Id. We will not reverse the Commission's decision unless we are convinced that fair-minded persons with the same facts before them could not have reached the conclusion arrived at by
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