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Taylor v. B & B Disposal4/27/2005
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
Appellant, Clarence Taylor, was employed by appellee B&B Disposal when he had an on-the-job, motor-vehicle accident on November 15, 2001. The other appellee in this case is Zenith Insurance Company. The parties stipulated that appellant sustained compensable injuries to his neck, back, and left knee as a result of the accident, and that benefits were paid for those injuries. In addition, however, appellant contended that he also injured his right shoulder in the accident, and he sought benefits with respect to that injury as well. Appellees controverted the right-shoulder-injury claim in its entirety. Following a hearing, the ALJ found that appellant had failed to prove that he sustained a compensable right-shoulder injury. The Commission affirmed and adopted the ALJ's opinion. Appellant raises two points of appeal: (1) the Commission erred in finding that he did not sustain a compensable right-shoulder injury on November 15, 2001, (2) he is entitled to temporary total-disability benefits from August 15, 2002, to a date yet to be determined, medical costs, mileage, permanent-partial disability, and attorney fees. Finding no error, we affirm the Commission.
Standard of Review
In reviewing decisions from the Workers' Compensation Commission, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commission's findings, and we affirm if the decision is supported by substantial evidence. Swearengin v. Evergreen Lawns, 85 Ark. App. 61, 145 S.W.3d 830 (2004). Substantial evidence exists if reasonable minds could reach the same conclusion. Id. When a claim is denied because the claimant has failed to show an entitlement to compensation by a preponderance of the evidence, the substantial-evidence standard of review requires us to affirm if the Commission's opinion displays a substantial basis for the denial of relief. Id.
Here, appellant testified that he was employed by appellee B&B Disposal for fifteen months prior to the accident. He described the trouble that he had with the steering mechanism on the truck that he drove and how it resulted in the accident. He stated that he told the doctors and nurses at the hospital that he had injured his knees, his neck, his back, and his shoulders and that he specifically told them that he injured his right shoulder in the accident. He further testified that when he went to see Dr. Stephen Waggoner, he told the doctor that his right shoulder was hurting but that his knee was hurting worse. Appellant recounted that Dr. Waggoner told him he was going to handle the injuries one at a time; that the only injury Dr. Waggoner treated him for was his knee; and that Dr. Waggoner referred him to Dr. Mark Harriman for his shoulder. He stated that he had never had any problems with his right shoulder before the accident. Appellant acknowledged that he had applied for several jobs and that he had also applied for unemployment benefits.
Carolyn Harris, appellant's girlfriend, testified that when she learned of the accident, she went to the hospital and that appellant told her both of his shoulders were hurting. She stated that he complains about his right shoulder hurting every day. She explained that she drove appellant to see Dr. Waggoner in Memphis and that she heard him tell Dr. Waggoner that there was something wrong with his right and left shoulders.
Jody Owensby, a former supervisor at B&B Disposal, testified that two to three months after the accident, appellant told him that he was raising goats. Owensby said that he never actually saw appellant taking care of goats, so he did not know if appellant worked or not. At on
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