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Igawa v. Koa House Restaurant2/2/2001
"cast a heavy burden on the employer in work[ers'] compensation cases. In its wisdom in formulating public policy in this area of the law, the legislature has decided that work injuries are among the costs of production which industry is required to bear; and if there is reasonable doubt as to whether an injury is work-connected, the humanitarian nature of the statute demands that doubt be resolved in favor of the claimant." Akamine, 53 Haw. at 409, 495 P.2d at 1166. It is the legislature's prerogative to give the employee the benefit of the doubt in any workers' compensation claim. HRS § 386-85 does just that. Korsak, 94 Hawaii at 307, 12 P.2d at 1248 (emphasis in original).
Here, the Board simply rejected the medical reports of Drs. Sakoda and Ginandes as being "inconsistent with the minor nature of the work injury." Accordingly, because the workers' compensation statute mandates resolution of any reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant, the Board erred in reversing Igawa's award for permanent partial disability.
In this respect, we also observe that it is at least intuitively suggestive that the sequelae of Igawa's 1975 head injury had for all intents and purposes remitted entirely for about a decade before a similar syndrome arose shortly after his 1991 head injury. Under such circumstances, the suggestion that the 1991 industrial accident aggravated the pre-existing condition naturally and ineluctably arises.
B. The Board's Modification of the Disfigurement Award.
Igawa next argues that "the Board erred as a matter of law in modifying the Director's disfigurement award" from $2,000.00 to $850.00.
HRS § 386-32 (Supp. 1999) provides, in pertinent part,
Disfigurement. In cases of personal injury resulting in disfigurement the director may award compensation not to exceed $30,000 as the director deems proper and equitable in view of the disfigurement. Disfigurement shall be separate from other permanent partial disabilities and shall include scarring and other disfiguring consequences caused by medical, surgical, and hospital treatment of the employee[.]
We are unable to determine from the record how the amount of the award was computed, either by the DLIR or by the Board. The Board, which reviews the DLIR's decisions de novo, ostensibly awarded $100.00 per inch of scar for Igawa's eight-and-one-half inch scar in reducing Igawa's disfigurement award from $2,000.00 to $850.00. However, the record contains neither a detailed description of Igawa's surgical scar nor a photograph or other illustration which would indicate the scar's precise placement, width, thickness, hue, etc. As there is no basis upon which to base a review of the Board's decision for abuse of discretion, we affirm the Board's disfigurement award in the amount of $850.00.
IV. Conclusion.
Based on the foregoing, we reverse the Board's Decision insofar as it reversed the Supplemental Decision of the DLIR awarding Igawa PPD benefits, and we affirm the Board's modification of the DLIR's disfigurement award.
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