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Ram Industries v. Sanders3/15/2000
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
AFFIRMED
Ram Industries appeals from the order of the Workers' Compensation Commission whereby the Commission found that Lindwood Sanders, Ram's employee and the appellee in this case, received a compensable injury to his shoulder while operating a mounted saw that malfunctioned. We find that substantial evidence supports the Commission's findings; therefore, we affirm.
Sanders was employed as a saw operator for Ram Industries. His job required him to cut plywood boards with a saw that was suspended from an overhead mount via a cable, and which was attached to a counterweight that allowed him to use the saw without constantly supporting the weight of the saw. On January 16, 1997, Sanders was injured when the overhead cable broke and the saw fell, exerting a sudden downward pressure on his left shoulder. While the parties dispute the exact position of Sander's arm and the saw when the cable broke, it is clear that Sanders was holding the saw when the cable snapped and he experienced sharp pain in his left shoulder when the saw fell.
Sanders immediately reported the incident to Columbus Abston, his supervisor, who asked if they could complete the paperwork the next day. The appellant worked the remaining fifteen minutes of his shift. He returned to work the next day. He was only able to work for approximately two hours, then he requested to see a doctor. He was ultimately referred to Dr. Scott Bowen, an orthopedist who became Sanders's primary treating physician. He diagnosed Sanders with a strain to the rotator cuff and with mild impingement of the acromioclavicular joint, the joint between the scapula and the clavicle. Dr. Bowen performed surgery on Sanders's left shoulder. The surgery involved resecting the acromioclavicular joint and shaving the front of the acromion, the outer part of the spine of the scapula. Dr. Bowen released Sanders to return to work without restriction on June 30, 1997, and Sanders worked until Ram Industries laid him off, three to four weeks later.
Sanders received a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) on August 7, 1998. In a opinion filed September 10, 1998, the ALJ found that the objective evidence showed Sanders sustained a compensable injury and was entitled to additional temporary total disability benefits commencing February 17, 1997, through June 29, 1997, and was also entitled to medical benefits necessary and reasonably related from this injury.
Ram Industries appealed the ALJ's decision to the Workers' Compensation Commission, arguing that Sanders's testimony during his deposition was inconsistent with his testimony during the hearing. Specifically, the appellant argued that during his deposition, Sanders stated that he was pushing the saw on a downward stroke through the wood when the cable broke, whereas at the hearing he stated that he had completed his cut and the saw was retracting when the cable broke, after Dr. Bowman testified that his injury was indicative of the cable breaking as the saw was retracting.
Ram Industries further argued that since Dr. Bowman's diagnosis was based on Sanders's subjective account of the accident and his symptoms, and since Sanders's credibility was at issue, his inconsistent testimony should be given little, if any, weight. Finally, the appellant argued that Dr. Bowen testified that the Sanders had arthritis in his shoulder, and that an impingement syndrome is usually the result of overhead activity, repeated lifting and rotational activities, and may result in painful flare-ups in the joints. Therefore, the appellant maintained, it was just as likely that Sanders's injury was caused from a flare-up of his d
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