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Frazier v. State ex rel Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division2/28/2000
Appeal from the District Court of Natrona County Honorable David B. Park, Judge
After a contested case hearing to determine Appellant Daniel Frazier's eligibility for worker's compensation benefits, the hearing examiner held that Appellant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his working conditions materially aggravated his pre-existing medical condition. The district court affirmed the hearing examiner's denial of Appellant's request for medical benefits.
We affirm.
ISSUES
Appellant presents the following issues for review:
1. Whether there was any factual basis for the decision of the Hearing Examiner in this case in denying Appellant's claim for worker's compensation benefits.
Appellee (the Division) provides two issues for review:
I. Is the Hearing Examiner's Order Denying Benefits supported by substantial evidence and within her discretion?
II. Is the Hearing Examiner's Order Denying Benefits in accordance with Wyoming law?
FACTS
Appellant began his employment with Excal, Inc. in Casper on October 8, 1996, initially working as a grinder. During his first month at Excal, Appellant experienced pain in his forearm, shoulder, and neck. Appellant reported the pain to his supervisor and sought medical treatment. The doctor prescribed medication for the pain, and the company transferred him to a different work area.
In this new position, Appellant lifted 50- to 80-pound molds 40 to 60 times in a 10- to 12-hour shift. On July 3, 1997, Appellant experienced lower back pain while lifting one of the molds. He notified his supervisor and sought medical attention that afternoon. During this visit to the doctor, Appellant reported that his lower back had been hurting him for three to four months, but could not identify a specific cause or date of injury. The physician's assistant, who treated Appellant, concluded that he was suffering from lower back pain of "uncertain etiology" and scheduled lumbar and pelvis x-rays. The x-rays identified "a grade 1 spondylolisthesis with a little spondylitis at L5/S1." The physician's assistant designed a rehabilitation program of medication, heat, ice, physical therapy, and education on lifting techniques. Appellant testified that this improved his condition for two to three months.
In early January of 1998, Appellant returned to the same clinic complaining of back pain. A magnetic resonance imaging test (MRI) was performed on Appellant on March 17, 1998, which detected a "bilateral spondylolysis at L5 with a grade I to grade II anterior spondylolysis at L5 relative to S1." Relying on the MRI, the physician's assistant explained to Appellant that he had a previously unidentified congenital defect. (During his deposition, Dr. Albert Metz, Appellant's treating physician, explained the condition. According to Dr. Metz, Appellant's spinal vertebrae failed to properly develop at birth, causing the L5 vertebra to slip in front of the next lower vertebra, the S1 or sacral bone.) Consequently, the physician's assistant recommended that Excal place Appellant on light duty, and Excal followed that recommendation.
Appellant continued to receive medical treatment from Dr. Metz, who advised Appellant to undergo a fusion operation to prevent recurring lower back pain. During Dr. Metz's deposition, he testified that he could not say, in terms of reasonable medical probability, when the slippage began. He did testify, however, in terms of reasonable medical probability, that ". . . repetitive bending and picking up of heavy weight on the job aggravated [Frazier's] problem. It made him symptomatic at this
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