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Boeing Company v. Harker-Lott11/30/1998
The Boeing Company appealed a decision favorable to Barbara Harker-Lott entered by the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. A jury reversed the Board's decision after the superior court refused to instruct it that it should give special consideration to the attending physician's testimony. We do not agree with Harker-Lott that the court was required to give the instruction. Because refusing the instruction was not manifestly unreasonable, we affirm.
In July 1988, Harker-Lott was injured in a car accident in the course of her employment with Boeing. In November 1988, she sought treatment from Dr. George Gilman, who was an orthopedic surgeon. Later that month she was involved in another car accident unrelated to her work. Harker-Lott was hospitalized under Dr. Gilman's care from December 27, 1988, through January 5, 1989. After that, she never returned to work.
In July 1989, Harker-Lott filed an application for industrial insurance benefits. When she did not seem to be improving, Dr. Gilman began considering surgery. Harker-Lott sought a second opinion and treatment from a neurologist, Dr. Robert Aigner. Dr. Aigner referred Harker-Lott to a neurosurgeon, Dr. James Blue. Dr. Blue did not agree with Dr. Gilman's recommendation of surgery and found no objective evidence of a physical problem attributable to her 1988 car accident.
Nevertheless, on October 5, 1990, Dr. Gilman performed surgery to remove a disk and fuse together two joints in Harker-Lott's neck in an attempt to alleviate her headaches and other pain. After the surgery, her headaches were less severe, but she continued to be in pain.
In May 1992, Harker-Lott was admitted to the Virginia Pain Management Program where she was treated by Dr. Thomas Williamson-Kirkland. Harker-Lott's condition improved when she was in the 10-day inpatient program, but after she returned home, she told Dr. Williamson-Kirkland she was worse. He believed she would do better if she returned to work because it would allow her to take her mind off the other stresses in her life.
In January 1993 and August 1994, Harker-Lott was involved in two other car accidents. Then, in April 1995, Harker-Lott sought treatment from neurologist Hang Kim. Kim used bioelectric treatments to ease the pain she described, but her pain returned when she tried to increase her level of activity, even though to Kim she appeared to be normal neurologically. In June 1995, an order was entered awarding time-loss compensation as paid through November 15, 1993, and compensation for permanent partial disability. The Department of Labor and Industries affirmed that order in September 1995. Harker-Lott appealed, and the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals reversed and remanded the order. The Board found that Harker-Lott had two herniated discs and lumbar strain as a result of the July 1988 injury, but her other conditions cervical degenerative arthritis and somatoform pain disorder were not proximately caused by that accident. Nevertheless, the Board found that, "considering her age, training, experience, injury and response thereto, and other relevant factors including but not limited to her somatoform pain disorder," she was unable to engage in any reasonably continuous gainful employment. Thus, the Board concluded that from November 13, 1993, through September 21, 1995, Harker-Lott was temporarily totally disabled, she was permanently totally disabled as of September 21, 1995, and her disability was proximately caused by her July 1998 industrial injury.
Boeing petitioned for review of the Board's decision, but the petition was denied, so Boeing appealed to King County Superior Court. When the parties submitted their proposed
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