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713 A.2d 3785/22/1998
APPEAL OF SHARON DEMERITT (New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board)
The claimant, Sharon Demeritt, appeals the decision of the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (board) denying her claim for workers' compensation benefits against her former employer, Textron Automotive Interiors (f/k/a Davidson Rubber Company) (Textron), and its insurer, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company (Fireman's Fund). We affirm.
In 1981, the claimant worked for Textron for nearly four months. Her duties included cementing and stapling carpet and other materials to automobile door panels. In the course of her employment, the claimant suffered a laceration to her left wrist and "triggering" of a finger on her right hand. Shortly thereafter, the claimant underwent surgery to repair her injured finger. After receiving workers' compensation benefits for a brief period, the claimant collected a lump sum settlement from Textron and Fireman's Fund.
After leaving Textron in 1981, the claimant held various positions through 1988, including material stitcher, machinist, custodian, shipper, and bookkeeper, during which time she received periodic treatment for symptoms in her hands, arms, and shoulders. In 1988, the claimant began working for Moore Business Forms (Moore) as an electrical assembler and experienced finger, wrist, arm, and shoulder pain while performing her duties. As a result, she received workers' compensation benefits from Moore's insurance provider.
In August 1990, the claimant went to work for Urban Tree Service (Urban Tree) as an office manager, which required her to perform extensive data entry. While so employed, the claimant suffered symptoms in her hands, arms, elbows, and shoulders. Finally, in March 1992, she filed a workers' compensation claim for certain medical treatment, asserting that her injury initially occurred at Moore but symptoms continued while at Urban Tree. After an evidentiary hearing, a department of labor hearing officer denied her claim against both employers, concluding that Textron and Fireman's Fund were responsible for her claim because she suffered "the same unstabilized condition" with recurring symptoms since leaving Textron's employ in 1981. The claimant took no appeal from this ruling.
Subsequently, the claimant sought workers' compensation benefits from Textron and Fireman's Fund. Following an evidentiary hearing, a different hearing officer denied her claim in May 1995. Contrary to the 1992 decision, the hearing officer ruled that the claimant "failed to show any logical connection between her current bilateral upper extremity symptoms . . . and the brief employment with [Textron] in 1981." In addition, the hearing officer noted that the claimant's failure to appeal the 1992 decision appeared to foreclose potential liability against Moore and Urban Tree.
The claimant appealed the May 1995 decision to the board, which conducted a de novo hearing. The claimant submitted medical reports from her two treating physicians, which were the only medical opinions provided to the board. One physician opined that "the injuries which [the claimant] originally sustained in 1981 have been flared-up by work activity at other employers over the past 14 years" and her "symptoms have never completely resolved since 1981." The other physician also related her ongoing symptoms to her 1981 injury. In July 1996, the board denied her claim against Textron, concluding that Textron bore no responsibility since it was "not the most recent employer that exposed the claimant to cumulative trauma." On appeal, the claimant argues that the board erred as a matter of law by: (1) disregarding the unchallenged opinions of her treating physicians, which r
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