Jones v. Miss. Baptist Health Sys., Inc.

• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: CHAMBERLIN, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT
• Citation: Jones v. Miss. Baptist Health Sys., Inc., 294 So.3d 76 (Miss. 2020)
• Decision Date: 07 May 2020
• Docket Number: NO. 2018-CT-00930-SCT,2018-CT-00930-SCT
• Parties: Angela JONES v. MISSISSIPPI BAPTIST HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. and Mississippi Baptist Health Services

294 So.3d 76

Angela JONES

v.MISSISSIPPI BAPTIST HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. and Mississippi Baptist Health Services

NO. 2018-CT-00930-SCT

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

May 7, 2020

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: DAVIS PETERSON, Jackson

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES: JENNIFER H. SCOTT, ANDREW D. SWEAT, Jackson

EN BANC.

CHAMBERLIN, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Angela Jones alleges that she sustained a compensable back injury while working as a registered nurse at Baptist Hospital. A Workers’ Compensation Commission administrative judge determined that Jones sustained a compensable work-related injury. Baptist appealed the administrative judge's decision to the full Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission, and the Commission reversed, determining that Jones did not sustain a compensable work-related injury. Jones appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed the Commission's decision. Jones v. Miss. Baptist Health Sys. Inc. , No. 2018-WC-00930-COA, ––– So.3d ––––, ––––, 2019 WL 2605828, at *5 (Miss. Ct. App. June 25, 2019). Baptist then filed a petition for writ of certiorari with this Court. Because we find that the Commission's decision was supported by substantial evidence, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and reinstate the Commission's decision.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¹

¶2. Jones was employed by Baptist Hospital as a registered nurse for approximately fourteen years. On March 21, 2015, near the end of Jones's shift,² Jones alleges that she felt a "pop" in her right lower back while she was pushing a medicine cart. Jones's charge nurse, Theresa Blanton, was nearby, and Jones asked Blanton if she had heard the "pop." Blanton responded that she had not. Blanton did testify that she witnessed Jones grabbing her back and limping after that. Blanton then asked Jones if she needed medical attention, but Jones declined. Blanton also asked Jones if she needed help with her patients, but Jones again declined and finished her shift.

¶3. At the time of Jones's alleged injury, Baptist's policies and procedures required that employee injuries be reported in "Risk Man"—Baptist's risk management system. Jones testified that she was trained on how and when to use Risk Man, and she acknowledged that Baptist's policies required her to report an on-the-job injury in Risk Man. But Jones testified that she did not record the incident because she "did not realize that it was an injury or something to put into the Risk Man system."

¶4. The following Monday, March 23, 2015, Jones emailed her supervisor, Jamie Hill, stating,

I started having trouble on Tuesday last week with my leg, but Friday night it was hurting a lot. It has continued to hurt badly thru the weekend and I have a MD appt this morning. It is a sharp and very painful going from my hip on right leg down with a sharp pain to my knee. This is leg problem is post my back hurting and a "pop" in my lower back last week.

¶5. That same day, Jones sought treatment from Dr. Larry Sivils. Dr. Sivils noted that Jones reported pain in her right leg from her hip to her knee. But Jones reported no lower-back pain. Dr. Sivils also noted that Jones "denie[d] direct injury." On the patient-information sheet at Dr. Sivils's office, Jones circled "no" when asked if the visit was related to an injury. The information sheet also asked the date and cause of the injury, but Jones drew a line through the corresponding spaces and added a question mark.

¶6. Later, on March 23, 2015, Jones again emailed Hill to inform him that she could not work the following night. Jones explained to Hill that "[h]opefully it is just a sciatic nerve inflammation" and that she intended to return to work on Friday.

¶7. On Thursday, March 26, 2015, Jones saw Dr. Eric Amundson. On the patient-history form, Jones circled "no" and added a question mark in response to the form's question about whether she had sustained an injury. Similarly, Jones circled "no" and added a question mark in response to whether her "health problem" was due to "an on the job injury." Additionally, Jones noted on the patient-history form that she had been off work "since pain increased x 1 wk." Jones reported experiencing leg swelling related to her preexisting bicuspid aortic valve nine days before the visit, which would have been March 17, 2015—four days before the alleged injury. Dr. Amundson noted that, "[n]ine days ago, the patient reports developing right buttock and hip pain with radiation into her lateral thigh and anterior thigh" and that "[h]er pain progressed significantly six days ago." But Dr. Amundson noted that Jones "denie[d] any precipitating event."

¶8. Dr. Amundson scheduled Jones for an MRI on March 27, 2015, "to evaluate for any L3 or L4 compressive nerve root pathology that may explain her symptoms." Dr. Amundson also stated that "[h]igh on the differential diagnosis is also meralgia paresthetica³ given [Jones's] morbid obesity." Dr. Amundson felt that Jones's pain "may be secondary to meralgia paresthetica verses a lumbar radiculopathy." As a result, Dr. Amundson counseled Jones "on the importance of pursuing an aggressive weight loss regimen including decreased caloric intake and regular exercise."

¶9. Jones consulted with Dr. Amundson again on April 2, 2015, for a follow-up after her MRI. After reviewing Jones's MRI, Dr. Amundson "recommend[ed] against surgical intervention." Instead, Dr. Amundson referred Jones to Dr. Edwin Dodd for pain management and suggested that she consider epidural steroid injections. On April 7, 2015, Jones was seen by Dr. Dodd, who noted that Jones's MRI showed a herniated disc at the L1-L2 level and other mild herniations. Dr. Dodd's report stated that Jones "describe[d] an approximately five-to-six-year history of lower back pain." Dr. Dodd further stated that Jones "began experiencing some new onset of moderate low back and right lower extremity radiation approximately two weeks ago without any obvious precipitating event." Dr. Dodd's notes reflect that he discussed epidural steroid injections with Jones and that he "had a lengthy discussion with Mrs. Jones ... concerning her need to pursue weight loss efforts."

¶10. Jones completed a "pain evaluation" form at Dr. Dodd's office. Jones checked two options in response to the question, "[u]nder what circumstances did the pain begin?": "At work, not an accident" and "[p]ain just began, I can't relate it to anything." She did not check "[a]ccident at work." Jones further wrote that her pain had been "[p]rogressive after several shifts in a row, over time, was at work." But when Jones was asked for an "approximate date that [she] first experienced the pain for which [she was] seeking help," she drew a question mark and then wrote, "[p]rogressive for years." Similarly, Jones selected "no" when asked if her pain or injury was a workers’ compensation case.

¶11. Following her consultation with Dr. Dodd, Jones emailed Hill later that day to inform him that Dr. Dodd wanted her to remain off work again the next day but that Dr. Dodd had "assure[d]" her that she could return to work on Friday, April 10, 2015. In response, Hill instructed Jones "to call HR regarding FMLA."⁴ Jones then contacted Baptist's Human Resources Department, but it was determined that FMLA was unnecessary at that time due to her anticipated return to work the following day.⁵

¶12. Jones continued to work at Baptist in April and May of 2015, but her pain did not resolve. As a result, Jones sought a second opinion from Dr. James Woodall—an orthopedic surgeon with whom Jones had worked at Baptist. Jones first saw Dr. Woodall on May 8, 2015. On her patient-history form, Jones again selected "no" when asked whether her condition was a work injury. Jones, however, claims that she told Dr. Woodall that her pain stemmed from an injury at work. But Dr. Woodall's notes from Jones's May 8, 2015 visit make no mention of such a report from Jones. Moreover, Dr. Woodall testified in his deposition that he did not recall Jones's ever claiming to have been injured at work. Likewise, Dr. Woodall's notes from Jones's subsequent visits on June 18, August 7, September 23, and November 9, also make no mention of a work-related injury. Dr. Woodall testified that, had Jones told him that her pain was related to some specific event or injury, he would have recorded that information in his notes.

¶13. Jones continued to work at Baptist in June, July and August 2015. Jones also continued to send emails to Hill and Brandy Bowlin, a Baptist HR department employee, to update them on her condition. None of these emails suggested that Jones's physical problems were in any way attributable to a work-related injury.

¶14. Jones had exhausted all of her accrued leave by August 2015. Baptist then approved Jones's request for FMLA leave, which was scheduled to run out on November 9, 2015. During September and October of 2015, Jones exchanged several emails with Bowlin to inquire whether it would be possible for her to return to work on "light duty" after her FMLA leave ended.

¶15. On October 21, 2015, Jones emailed Bowlin indicating that her injuries were related to pushing the medicine cart during her nursing shift. This was the first time that Jones had ever indicated that this event caused her injury. Bowlin directed Jones to another Baptist employee, Denise Hux, to discuss workers’ compensation. Jones later obtained counsel and filed a petition to controvert.

¶16. On November 17, 2015, a nurse case manager from Baptist's workers’ compensation carrier sent Dr. Woodall an inquiry regarding Jones's condition and prognosis. In response, Dr. Woodall opined that Jones's then-current diagnosis was not "causally related to her alleged work incident" in March 2015. Dr. Woodall wrote that there was "no specific acute pathology to support" that claim. Dr. Woodall described Jones's pain as "multifactorial[,] with disc disease, obesity,[and] deconditioning all contributing to her pain."

¶17. Dr. Woodall later testified by deposition that...