Alexandria City Pub. Sch. v. Handel

• Decision Date: 14 May 2019
• Docket Number: Record No. 1582-18-4
• Citation: 70 Va.App. 349,827 S.E.2d 384
• Parties: ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS and Alexandria City School Board v. Kerri HANDEL
• Court: Virginia Court of Appeals

70 Va.App. 349

827 S.E.2d 384

ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS and Alexandria City School Board

v.Kerri HANDEL

Record No. 1582-18-4

Court of Appeals of Virginia, Fredericksburg.

MAY 14, 2019

Michael S. Bliley (Andrew M. Alexander ; Siciliano, Ellis, Dyer & Boccarosse PLC, on briefs), for appellant.

(Julie H. Heiden ; Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, DePaolis & Lightfoot, LLP, on brief), for appellee. Appellee submitting on brief.

Present: Judges Huff, O'Brien and Senior Judge Haley

OPINION BY JUDGE GLEN A. HUFF

Alexandria City Public Schools ("employer") appeals an award of workers’ compensation benefits to Kerri Handel ("claimant") by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. In a single assignment of error, employer argues the Commission erred in finding that claimant suffered a compensable injury to her right shoulder. Employer argues claimant failed to prove she suffered a sudden structural or mechanical change to her shoulder. Employer contends that claimant must demonstrate a sudden mechanical or structural change to each part of the body in which the claimant is experiencing pain for the injury to be compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. This Court affirms the Commission because claimant must only prove her accident caused one sudden mechanical or structural change to her body to collect compensation for any injury caused by that accident. Proof of a "sudden mechanical or structural change in the body" is required only to establish that a claimant suffered an "injury by accident ."

I. BACKGROUND

"Under settled principles of appellate review, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to employee as the prevailing party before the commission." Layne v. Crist Elec. Contractor, Inc., 64 Va. App. 342, 345, 768 S.E.2d 261 (2015). So viewed, the evidence in the record shows the claimant was employed as a math teacher at T.C. Williams High School in the Alexandria City School District on April 24, 2014. On that date, claimant slipped on a puddle of hand sanitizer on her classroom floor and fell on her right side. She was then taken by ambulance to Alexandria Hospital for treatment of her injuries. Among the multiple injuries listed under "Final Diagnoses" on the hospital records from that visit is "Pain in joint, shoulder region."

Claimant filed a notice of injury report with Alexandria City Public Schools on April 29, 2014, in which she indicated that her right ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, neck, and back were all injured in the fall. On April 30, 2014, claimant sought treatment from orthopedist Dr. David Hampton at which time she complained of pain throughout her right side, including her right shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, low back, and neck. Dr. Hampton evaluated claimant again in September 2016 for shoulder pain and concluded her pain was nerve related. Dr. Hampton then referred claimant to Dr. Ryan Jander for a second opinion. At her examination with Dr. Jander, claimant complained of pain originating in her shoulder and radiating down her arm with numbness in her hand. There were no abnormal results indicated by imaging of claimant’s right shoulder done by either Dr. Hampton or Dr. Jander, but Dr. Jander concluded complainant suffered from a neurological condition in her shoulder and referred her to physical therapy.

A hearing was held on November 9, 2016, before Deputy Commissioner Susan Cummins. Prior to that hearing, employer had stipulated to a compensable injury by accident to the claimant’s right hip, neck, back, right ankle, and right knee but disputed claims for the right shoulder and a head injury. In February 2018, the deputy commissioner issued a letter opinion awarding claimant temporary total disability benefits and lifetime medical benefits for "injuries including but not limited to injuries to the right knee, right ankle, right hip, right shoulder, back, neck, head and for memory loss, migraines/headaches and a concussion/post-concussion syndrome." The deputy commissioner found that her "account of how she was injured is uncontroverted by the other evidence." The deputy commissioner further found that claimant had demonstrated "the necessary causal nexus between the accident and the claimant’s right shoulder complaints" and that she had sustained an "injury by accident" to both her shoulder and head.

Employer appealed the commissioner’s decision and requested a full Commission review in April 2018. Employer argued claimant failed to demonstrate a structural or mechanical change in the shoulder. Nevertheless, the Commission unanimously agreed with the deputy commissioner that claimant had "established a compensable injury by accident to the right shoulder."

This appeal followed.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

"The commission’s determination of whether a claimant suffered ‘an "injury by accident" presents a mixed question of law and fact, because it involves both factual findings and the application of law to those facts. The Commission’s factual findings bind us as long as credible evidence supports them.’ " Riverside Regional Jail Authority v. Dugger, 68 Va. App. 32, 37, 802 S.E.2d 184 (2017) (quoting Van Buren v. Augusta Cty., 66 Va. App. 441, 446, 787 S.E.2d 532 (2016) ). "In determining whether credible evidence exists, [this C]ourt does not retry the facts, reweigh the preponderance of the evidence, or make its own determination of the credibility of the witnesses." Smith-Adams v. Fairfax Cty. Sch. Bd., 67 Va. App. 584, 590, 798 S.E.2d 466 (2017) (quoting Wagner Enters., Inc. v. Brooks, 12 Va. App. 890, 894, 407 S.E.2d 32 (1991) ).

Whether the facts found by the Commission "prove the claimant suffered a compensable ‘injury by accident’ is a question of law." Van Buren, 66 Va. App. at 446, 787 S.E.2d 532 (quoting Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Harris, 35 Va. App. 162, 168, 543 S.E.2d 619 (2001) ). Where there is a mixed question of law and fact, "the [C]ommission’s ruling is not binding on appeal." Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Hagins, 32 Va. App. 386, 393, 528 S.E.2d 162 (2000).

III. ANALYSIS

On appeal, employer contends that the Commission erred in finding that the injury to claimant’s right shoulder was compensable because, unlike her other injuries, claimant failed to prove a sudden mechanical or structural change in her right shoulder. Under Virginia law, an injury is compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act when the injury was the result of an accident, which the claimant must establish by proving "(1) an identifiable incident; (2) that occurs at some reasonably definite time; (3) an obvious sudden mechanical or structural change in the body; and (4) a causal connection between the incident and bodily change." Hoffman v. Carter, 50 Va. App. 199, 212, 648 S.E.2d 318 (2007).

Employer only challenges the third prong, claiming that there is no structural or mechanical change to the claimant’s shoulder and that the shoulder pain she complains of was not caused by the structural or mechanical changes elsewhere in her body. Employer concludes that this fact alone makes claimant’s shoulder injury non-compensable under the Act. Although this Court has never directly addressed this issue before, we find employer’s argument unpersuasive and therefore disagree.¹

A single "sudden mechanical or structural change" anywhere in the body suffices to establish that a claimant has suffered an "injury by accident." Once an injury by accident is established, any injury causally connected to the accident—even if not connected to the sudden mechanical or structural change—is compensable. In other words, a claimant does not need to prove a structural or mechanical change in every body part affected by an obvious accident as long as there is at least one sudden mechanical or structural change and each injury is caused by the accident.²

The requirement that a claimant prove she suffered a "sudden mechanical or structural change" exists only to establish that the injury is accidental and not the result of a gradual change over time. The Supreme Court and this Court have only applied the "sudden mechanical or structural change" requirement in three general circumstances. In each circumstance, the courts ultimately use it only to establish that the claimant’s injuries are accidental. It is not used to establish that the injuries are "injuries" within the meaning of Workers' Compensation statute.

First, a claimant suffers an "injury by accident" when she suffers a "sudden mechanical or structural change" in the body, even if the claimant’s injury is caused by the usual exertions of her job—even when there is no "accident" within the ordinary sense of that word.

Second, a claimant has not suffered an "injury by accident" when the injury is gradually occurring. Suffering a "mechanical or structural change to the body" is insufficient. Rather it must be a "sudden mechanical or structural change."

Third, a claimant may prove a purely psychological injury to be an "injury by accident" without proving she suffered a "sudden mechanical or structural change" to her body. Rather, she can prove she suffered an "injury by accident" by demonstrating an "obvious sudden shock or fright" caused her purely psychological injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The claimant may still prove the purely psychological injury is an injury by accident by showing a "sudden mechanical or structural change" to the body, but is only required to when she cannot prove her psychological injury was caused by an "obvious sudden shock or fright."

These three uses of the test demonstrate that the purpose of proving the "sudden mechanical or structural change" is to establish the injuries are accidental.

A. Usual exertions

Despite the absence of an "accident" within the ordinary meaning of that word, an injury that an employee sustains while performing his or her routine job duties is compensable as an "injury by accident" when the injury results in a "sudden mechanical or structural change" in the body. The Supreme Court addressed the...