Harrison v. Owen Steel Co.
| Decision Date | 10 January 2018 |
| Docket Number | Appellate Case No. 2015-002093,Opinion No. 5528 |
| Parties | Robert L. HARRISON, Employee, Appellant, v. OWEN STEEL COMPANY, INC., Employer, and Old Republic Insurance Company c/o Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc., Carrier, Respondents. |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
Frank Anthony Barton, of West Columbia, for Appellant.
Jason Wendell Lockhart, of McAngus, Goudelock & Courie, LLC, of Columbia, and Helen F. Hiser, of McAngus, Goudelock & Courie, LLC, of Mount Pleasant, for Respondents.
Robert Harrison, an employee of Owen Steel Company, appeals the decision of the Appellate Panel of the Workers' Compensation Commission (Appellate Panel) denying his claim for compensation for injuries sustained from an admitted workplace accident occurring on September 17, 2008. Harrison argues the Appellate Panel erred in finding his claim was barred by the doctrine of laches and the occurrence of intervening accidents. We affirm.
In September 2008, Harrison suffered an admitted workplace injury to his neck while working for Owen Steel Company as a gantry welder. Harrison indicated he had neck pain that radiated behind his left shoulder blade down his left arm to his elbow. Owen Steel provided medical treatment through Dr. Thomas Holbrook, who performed a cervical-spine fusion at C5-C6 in November 2009. After the surgery, Harrison returned to work on light duty.
Harrison was then involved in a motorcycle accident in April 2010. As a result of the accident, Harrison suffered a left clavicle fracture and abrasions to the left side of his head, right arm and palm, and both knees. However, the emergency room doctor's notes indicate Harrison denied having pain in his head or neck.
In July 2010, Dr. Holbrook released Harrison at Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) with a fifty-pound lifting restriction and "a 25% impairment to the whole person." Dr. Holbrook's notes indicate Harrison was doing well and had no radicular arm pain but, going forth, might occasionally experience some discomfort that could be relieved with aspirin. Harrison returned to work full time as a welder.
Dr. Donald Johnson performed an independent medical evaluation of Harrison in September 2010. Dr. Johnson noted Harrison had returned to work as a welder and observed Harrison had degenerative changes to his spine above the cervical fusion, specifically C3-C4 and C4-C5. On September 29, similar to Dr. Holbrook, Dr. Johnson believed Harrison had reached MMI and assigned him a 25% impairment rating to the whole person.
In early October 2010, Harrison reinjured his neck at work. The doctor's notes from the emergency room visit state that Harrison lifted a fifty-pound roll of wire and felt a sharp pain in his neck that "radiated down to his upper back and down his left arm." Dr. Raymond Sweet examined Harrison a month after Harrison's second workplace injury. Dr. Sweet knew of Harrison's previous surgery by Dr. Holbrook. Dr. Sweet noted Harrison stated he had never completely recovered and still had pain in his left arm that was getting worse. At a follow-up visit two weeks later, Dr. Sweet reevaluated Harrison and recommended against a posterior fusion, further noting that Harrison was experiencing reduced neck pain and no arm pain. Dr. Sweet released Harrison at MMI with a 15% whole-person impairment and allowed Harrison to return to work with a restriction not to lift more than thirty pounds.
Harrison returned to work on light duty, working in the tool room for the entirety of 2011. During that time, Harrison filed a workers' compensation claim for his 2010 workplace injury. Owen Steel settled the claim in August 2011 for $42,193.63. Sometime near the end of 2011, Harrison transitioned back to work as a welder.
In February 2012, Harrison suffered another injury while picking up his young daughter, who had fallen off of a porch. As a result of the injury, Harrison went to Doctors Express. The records from that visit indicate Harrison's chief complaint was neck pain. Harrison had a follow-up visit with Dr. Holbrook a month later. Dr. Holbrook's notes indicate Harrison complained of pain in his neck and right arm that radiated down into his hand with numbness and tingling in his fingers. Harrison contends he never complained of neck pain.
Harrison became a shop foreman, a supervisory position with higher pay, in August 2012. Although his position is less physically demanding, Harrison is occasionally required to perform the tasks he supervises, including welding, turning beams, and cleaning up.
On April 18, 2013, Harrison filed a Form 50 seeking compensation for injuries sustained in his 2008 workplace injury.1 Owen Steel argued, among other things, Harrison had failed to file the claim within the applicable two-year statute of limitations. After a hearing, the single commissioner found Harrison's claim was barred by the two-year statute of limitations. Harrison appealed to the Appellate Panel, which reversed the single commissioner and found Harrison had complied with the statute of limitations by filing a claim letter in September 2009. The Appellate Panel remanded the case "for findings with regard to issues of intervening accidents, laches, and permanency."
On remand, the single commissioner found Harrison's claim was barred by the doctrine of laches. The single commissioner also found that even if laches did not bar Harrison's claim, it would be impossible to determine Harrison's entitlement to permanent partial disability benefits because of intervening accidents. Further, the single commissioner found Harrison had "not met his burden of proving by [a] preponderance of the evidence as to what his causally related condition was as a result of" his 2008 workplace injury. The Appellate Panel affirmed. This appeal followed.
An appellate court may reverse a decision by the Appellate Panel if it is affected by an error of law or is clearly erroneous in view of the substantial evidence. S.C. Code Ann. § 1-23-380(5)(d)–(e) (Supp. 2017). " ‘Substantial evidence’ is not a mere scintilla of evidence nor the evidence viewed blindly from one side of the case, but is evidence which, considering the record as a whole, would allow reasonable minds to reach the conclusion that [the Appellate Panel] reached or must have reached" to support its order. Lark v. Bi-Lo, Inc. , 276 S.C. 130, 135, 276 S.E.2d 304, 306 (1981) (quoting Law v. Richland Cty. Sch. Dist. No. 1 , 270 S.C. 492, 495–96, 243 S.E.2d 192, 193 (1978) ).
"The Appellate Panel is the ultimate fact finder in Workers' Compensation cases and is not bound by the single commissioner's findings of fact." Hall v. Desert Aire, Inc. , 376 S.C. 338, 348, 656 S.E.2d 753, 758 (Ct. App. 2007). When "there are conflicts in the evidence over a factual issue, the findings of the Appellate Panel are conclusive." Id. "[T]he possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the evidence does not prevent an administrative agency's findings from being supported by substantial evidence." Tiller v. Nat'l Health Care Ctr. of Sumter , 334 S.C. 333, 338, 513 S.E.2d 843, 845 (1999). An appellate court "may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of the agency as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact." § 1-23-380(5).
The Appellate Panel denied Harrison's claim for permanent partial disability benefits associated with his 2008 workplace injury. We affirm this ruling, albeit for reasons different from those underlying the Appellate Panel's decision and the parties' arguments. See Rule 220(c), SCACR (); see also Bartles v. Livingston , 282 S.C. 448, 465, 319 S.E.2d 707, 717 (Ct. App. 1984) (); id. ( ). Although the Appellate Panel relied on laches in making its ruling, we find laches does not apply.2
Harrison argues this court should focus solely on the impairment ratings issued by Dr. Holbrook and Dr. Johnson for Harrison's first injury and disregard the impairment rating issued by Dr. Sweet for Harrison's second injury to the same body part. He argues the reports of Dr. Holbrook and Dr. Johnson conclusively established he suffered a 25% whole-person impairment from his September 2008 injury. We disagree.
We are unable to discover any cases similar to the unique posture of this case—an employee who suffers two workplace injuries to the same body part, receives compensation for the second injury first, suffers additional non-workplace injuries to the same body part, then seeks compensation for the first workplace injury.3 However, our supreme court's opinion in Medlin v. Greenville County , 303 S.C. 484, 401 S.E.2d 667 (1991) is instructive. In Medlin , the court found "that an employee who has suffered a fifty percent or more loss of use of his back and has received total and permanent compensation for this loss, is not entitled to any further total and permanent benefits for successive injuries...
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