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Saterlee v. Lumbermen's Mutual Cas. Co.12/10/1996
53 St.Rep. 1310
Submitted on Briefs September 12, 1996.
Catherine E. Satterlee filed a petition in the Workers' Compensation Court for the State of Montana in which she alleged that she was totally disabled as a result of injuries sustained during the course of her employment at Buttrey Food and Drug at its Anaconda store, but that Buttrey's insurer, Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Company, had wrongfully terminated her disability benefits. Lumbermen's admitted that Satterlee had been injured while working for Buttrey, but claimed that she had recovered from that injury a short time thereafter, and that any present disability is a result of unrelated mental and physical conditions. After consideration of evidence presented at trial and by deposition, the Workers' Compensation Court found that her disability was not a result of her work-related injury, and denied disability benefits. Satterlee appeals from that finding. We reverse in part and affirm in part the judgment of the Workers' Compensation Court.
The claimant raises the following issues on appeal:
1. Are the Workers' Compensation Court's findings supported by substantial credible evidence?
2. Did the Workers' Compensation Court err when it denied Satterlee's requests for an award of attorney fees and the imposition of a twenty percent penalty in addition to her disability benefits?
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Catherine Satterlee was born on September 30, 1934. On the date that her claim came before the Workers' Compensation Court for trial, she was sixty years old. She did not graduate from high school, but did receive her graduate equivalency degree. She has no other formal education.
For fifteen years prior to the date of her work-related injury, Satterlee worked as a checker for Buttrey Food and Drug at its store in Anaconda. The evidence was, and the trial court found, that during that time Satterlee had developed degenerative arthritis in her cervical spine, but that she experienced no symptoms or disability from that condition. Until the date of her injury, she performed her duties, which included stocking shelves, dusting and cleaning floors, and checking out customers, without physical limitation. She missed no work due to her underlying cervical condition.
In May 1990, Satterlee's adult son was killed in an automobile accident. As a result of that loss, she suffered severe depression and missed several months of work. However, following treatment for her condition, which was later diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder, she returned to work in 1991 and worked without any further loss of time until the date of her injury which is the subject of this appeal.
On July 25, 1992, while waiting on a customer at Buttrey, Satterlee bent over and twisted her body in an attempt to rearrange a forty-five pound bag of dog food so that she could read the price label. As a result of that effort, she experienced a pulling sensation in her left shoulder, followed by pain in that part of her body, as well as in her neck and down her left arm. She had experienced no similar pain at any time prior to that incident. She testified that since that incident she has had continuous pain in her left shoulder and neck. The Workers' Compensation Court found her to be a credible witness and did not question her testimony in that regard.
Following her injury, Satterlee attempted to return to work on two consecutive days, but could not perform her duties, and has not worked in any capacity since July 28, 1992.
Since her injury, Satterlee has been seen and treated or evaluated by numerous physicians. Her in
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