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Brice v. Sheraton Inn3/21/2000
Appeal by plaintiff from Opinion and Award entered 25 January 1999 by the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Heard in the Court of Appeals 11 January 2000.
Plaintiff appeals the finding of the Industrial Commission that, although plaintiff was temporarily totally disabled, she was not permanently totally disabled. We affirm.
In 1990, plaintiff Mary L. Brice (Brice), then fifty years old, began working for defendant-employer Sheraton Inn (Sheraton). Her duties required her to perform repetitive tasks with her hands, including retrieving and sorting soiled towels and linens; loading commercial-size washers and dryers; ironing, folding, and stacking hotel laundry; transporting the pressed and folded laundry to another room; cleaning and straightening the work area; and dispensing clean towels, linens, and soap to room attendants. Although she was promoted to laundry supervisor, she continued to perform her regular duties while overseeing the work of other employees assigned to the laundry area.
On 11 January 1995, plaintiff felt a "pop" in her right wrist as she was removing wet linen from a washing machine at work. She reported the incident to her supervisor, but continued to work despite growing pain and swelling in her right hand. Because of the recurrent pain, plaintiff relied increasingly on her left hand. As a result, plaintiff began experiencing pain in her left wrist and thumb. On 3 March 1995, plaintiff sought medical treatment for her injury. Physical therapy was recommended. Plaintiff resigned from her job with Sheraton on 24 April 1995 for reasons unrelated to the condition of her hands.
Plaintiff continued to experience pain and swelling in her hands despite physical therapy. Thereafter, she was diagnosed with chronic bilateral de Quervain tenosynovitis and left trigger thumb, conditions resulting from the repetitive nature of her work while employed with Sheraton. She filed a Form 18 "Notice of Accident to Employer" on 3 May 1995, but her claim was denied. An orthopedist, Dr. Wallace Andrew, examined plaintiff and later performed surgery on her left hand. Dr. Andrew released plaintiff to return to work without restriction as of 28 August 1995.
Plaintiff's case initially was heard before a deputy commissioner on 5 December 1995. In an opinion and award filed 4 February 1997, the deputy commissioner found that plaintiff had suffered a compensable injury and was entitled to receive temporary total disability at the weekly rate of $177.43 from 9 May 1995 until further order from the full Commission. Both parties appealed the decision of the deputy commissioner.
On 29 July 1997, the case was reviewed by the full Commission, which filed an opinion and award on 25 August 1997. The Commission concluded that plaintiff had suffered a compensable injury and was entitled to receive temporary total disability at the weekly rate of $182.21 from 9 May 1995 until 28 August 1995, the date on which Dr. Andrew released plaintiff to work without restriction. Additionally, the Commission found plaintiff to be ten percent permanently partially disabled in her left hand and seven percent in her right. The Commission concluded that plaintiff failed to show that she was permanently and totally disabled.
Plaintiff appealed the full Commission's opinion and award to this Court. In her appeal, she contended the Commission erred by rejecting the deputy commissioner's determination of plaintiff's credibility, by arbitrarily according greater weight to the testimony of one expert over that of other experts, and by incorrectly shifting the burden of proof to plaintiff. This Court, relying on Sanders v. Broyhill Furniture Industries, 124 N.C.
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