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Vanhoozer v. Kroger4/13/2005
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
Appellant Naomi VanHoozer appeals from the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission's finding that she failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she suffered a compensable injury to her right knee. Specifically, appellant argues that the Commission erred in finding that she failed to prove that she sustained a compensable injury caused by a specific incident or, alternatively, that she failed to prove that she sustained a gradual-onset injury cause by rapid repetitive motion. We affirm.
Medical records from Dr. Robert H. Miller dated August 20, 2002, indicated that appellant had a history of bilateral knee pain, and over the previous three months, the pain had worsened, with the left knee being worse than the right knee. The records further indicated that after a prolonged day of standing at work, her knees severely ached. The doctor concluded that she had "mild medial compartment patellofemoral arthrosis, bilateral knees."
Appellant, who was born on July 8, 1932, worked as a floral designer for appellee Kroger. She stated that her duties there were repetitive and that she was required to work in a rapid manner. On Friday, October 25, 2002, at 12:00 p.m., she was making seven fruit baskets, which required that she fill a cart with fruit, push it to a work area, line up fruit baskets on a counter, take fruit out of the cart, and put it in baskets. Appellant testified that she repetitively turned on her right knee and leg and shifted her weight to her right leg. Appellant had been performing this job for approximately three hours when she felt a sharp pain in her knee as she turned to pick up some fruit while she had her weight on her right leg. Appellant stated that the pain was different from the dull ache of short duration that she had previously experienced in her right knee. After feeling this pain, she finished the fruit baskets and took her lunch break at 4:30 p.m. Appellant told the manager, George Martine, that her knee was "killing" her. She did not, however, tell him what had caused her pain. Martine testified that he did not recall speaking with her on that day, though he did recall that on numerous occasions before that day they had discussed their respective knee pains. After her lunch break, and even though her knee hurt, she returned to her job and worked until 7:00 p.m.
Appellant stated that her knee continued to hurt through the night and that she could not put weight on her leg the next morning. She called Martine and told him that her knee was "bothering" her so badly that she could not walk. Martine testified that, when she called him, she did not tell him that she had twisted her knee at work. Appellant later called her supervisor, Bruce Walker, and told him that she was going to the emergency room. The emergency-room medical and physician's records from her October 26, 2002, visit to the emergency room indicated that appellant had an injury to her right knee that occurred at "home" the day before in the "context" of "prolonged ambulation." The records indicated that she had a right-knee sprain. Following her emergency- room visit, she informed her employer that she could not work Sunday.
Appellant later told her employer that she had an appointment with her family physician, Dr. Trent Pierce. In records dated October 31, 2002, the doctor noted that appellant had a "sprained knee" on "Friday." He gave her a work slip giving her time off until she could keep a scheduled appointment with her orthopedist, Dr. Robert Miller. She gave the work slip to the assistant manager, Gerald Jones.
Dr. Miller's report from November 7, 2002, indicated that appellant had an injury to her rig
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