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Smith v. Howard County Children's Center6/1/2005
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
Appellant Tammy Smith brings this appeal from the October 25, 2004 decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission) affirming and adopting the administrative law judge's (ALJ) decision that she failed to prove that she sustained a compensable injury. We affirm.
Appellant was employed by appellee Howard County Children's Center as a custodian. She was performing her usual duties on April 9, 2003, when she was pinned against some boxes and a wall during a forklift accident. Appellant immediately complained of pain in her right hip and took Ibuprofen for her initial pain. She saw her personal physician, Dr. Mark Floyd, the following day, at which time he reported a diagnosis of " usculoskeletal pain in the right groin and back and hip region" and noted that the patient should have no long-term problem with the injury. After appellant's attempt to alleviate her symptoms with pain medication and a week of rest was unsuccessful, Dr. Floyd referred her to neurosurgeon Dr. John Pace. On April 17, 2003, appellant had an MRI taken of her lumbar spine, and the results were compared to a previous MRI that had been done on February 5, 2003, related to previously occurring back pain. The subsequent MRI demonstrated no new findings or significant change but showed continued generalized disc bulging and desiccation of L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1, with mild neural foramina narrowing at L4-L5.
Dr. Pace examined appellant on May 5, 2003, and he diagnosed a lumbar strain, recording complaints of pain in the low back and coccyx area. He prescribed medication and physical therapy. Appellant also had a bone scan performed on June 2, 2003, and the results were interpreted to be normal. Dr. Pace confirmed his diagnosis of lumbar strain and coccygeal pain when he last saw appellant on June 16, 2003. At that time, Dr. Pace recommended pain management treatment, but he refused to see appellant again after appellees controverted additional treatment.
Appellant returned to Dr. Floyd for additional treatment, and in a letter dated July 17, 2003, he opined that her chronic pain in the back, hip, and legs was related to a weight problem. He stated that appellant would be a good candidate for gastric bypass or banding procedure for weight control, and she did undergo a bypass procedure prior to the hearing before the ALJ. On October 30, 2003, Dr. Floyd referred appellant to Dr. Edward Saer due to continuing complaints of pain. She saw Dr. Saer only once on January 8, 2004, prior to losing her health insurance in April 2004. After examining appellant and reviewing her history, x-rays, bone scan, and the two MRI reports, Dr. Saer opined that appellant "probably had a strain or sprain." His letter stated that the later MRI report showed the same desiccation as the earlier one but that it did look like she had an "HIZ at the L3-L4 and L4-L5 levels." Dr. Saer stated that surgery was not necessary but that pain management was a good option. He also opined that claimant's symptoms were related to the April 9, 2003 accident, rather than a previous car accident that occurred in 1993. He concluded his opinion with the statement that appellant did "have changes on the MRI that were not present prior to the [April 9, 2003] injury, and that could account for some of her symptoms."
A hearing was held before the ALJ on June 3, 2004, and in an opinion filed on July 23, 2004, the ALJ made findings that appellant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) the existence and extent of her injury was established by medical evidence supported by objective findings, and (2) she sustained a compensable injury. In an October 25, 2004 opinion, the Commissi
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