Parker v. Ashley Furniture Indus., 2014–WC–00668–COA.

• Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: IRVING, P.J., for the Court
• Citation: Parker v. Ashley Furniture Indus., 164 So.3d 1081 (Miss. App. 2015)
• Decision Date: 31 March 2015
• Docket Number: No. 2014–WC–00668–COA.,2014–WC–00668–COA.
• Parties: Isaac PARKER, Jr., Appellant v. ASHLEY FURNITURE INDUSTRIES, Appellee.

164 So.3d 1081

Isaac PARKER, Jr., Appellant

v.ASHLEY FURNITURE INDUSTRIES, Appellee.

No. 2014–WC–00668–COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

March 31, 2015.

Brett Andrew Ferguson, James Michael Traylor, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.

J. Andrew Hughes, Tupelo, attorney for appellee.

Before IRVING, P.J., ROBERTS and MAXWELL, JJ.

Opinion

IRVING, P.J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Isaac Parker appeals the decision of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission), which held that Parker did not suffer a loss of industrial use due to a work-related injury, and, therefore, was not entitled to permanent disability benefits.

¶ 2. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On March 23, 2011, while assembling wooden furniture frames at an Ashley Furniture assembly plant, Isaac felt a sharp pain in his hands. Isaac reported his pain to the plant nurse and his supervisor. The nurse scheduled Isaac an appointment with a medical group in New Albany, Mississippi. After seeing the physician at the medical group, Isaac told the plant nurse he would rather see Dr. Samuel Creekmore and the nurse approved. Dr. Creekmore subsequently sent Isaac to see Dr. Johnny Mitias, an orthopaedic surgeon at Ortho One. Isaac underwent a nerve study, which revealed that he suffered from work-related bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Dr. Mitias performed a bilateral carpal tunnel release, on July 13, 2011. Post surgery, Dr. Mitias prescribed physical therapy and braces.

¶ 4. Isaac claimed that the surgery did not help his pain. Dr. Mitias recommended that Isaac remain off work. At an office visit on August 25, 2011, according to his medical notes, Dr. Mitias released Isaac to return to light-duty work with a weight-lifting restriction of nothing greater than five pounds. Ashley Furniture placed Isaac on light duty, but Isaac continued to complain to the nurse that pain in his hand made it hard for him to perform his job. At his September 13, 2011 visit, Dr. Mitias continued Isaac's physical therapy three times a week for two more weeks, and changed the weight restriction from five to ten pounds. On October 6, 2011, Dr. Mitias continued the work-hardening process, and increased Isaac's lifting restriction to fifteen pounds. Dr. Mitias further ordered Isaac to go to Baptist Memorial Hospital for an XRTS¹ test to determine if Isaac's complaints were valid. According to the XRTS report, Isaac had magnified the severity of his symptoms. Dr. Mitias referred Isaac to Dr. Cooper Terry for a second opinion.

¶ 5. According to his medical records, Dr. Terry evaluated Isaac on November 7, 2011, and concluded that Dr. Mitias' treatment was appropriate with respect to Isaac's condition. Dr. Terry's notes also indicate that he informed Isaac that it could take up to six months for the scar tenderness to resolve and for full-grip strength to return. Based on the XRTS results, Dr. Terry did not see a need for any work restrictions. At Isaac's last visit with Dr. Mitias, on December 13, 2011, Dr. Mitias released Isaac to regular-duty work with no restrictions, and placed him on maximum medical improvement with a 3% impairment rating to each hand. Isaac testified that, even though he was released to regular duty, he had complained to the plant nurse of continued pain in his hand. Isaac's employment with Ashley Furniture ended on January 2, 2012.² A few months after leaving Ashley Furniture, Isaac obtained part-time work at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) as a cook. Isaac returned to Dr. Creekmore with the same symptoms. This time, Dr. Creekmore referred Isaac to Dr. Mohammed Akbik. Dr. Akbik ran additional diagnostic tests, and based on the tests results, he opined that Isaac had a recurrence of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and recommended another surgery. At this point, Isaac applied for permanent disability benefits, which Ashley Furniture denied.

¶ 6. Isaac filed a petition to controvert with the Commission, and an administrative judge (AJ) held a hearing on January 22, 2013. At the hearing, the parties agreed to the following stipulations:

(1) [Isaac] suffered a work-related bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome on March 23, 2011, in the course and scope of his employment as an assembler with Ashley Furniture;

(2) [Isaac]'s average weekly wage at the time of the injury was $612.82 with a compensation rate of $408.55 per week totaling $1,634.20;

(3) Temporary partial disability benefits were paid from April 19th, 2011 to July 17th 2011 and from August 15th, 2011 to December 11, 2011, totaling $5,619.44;

(4) Permanent partial disability benefits were paid for 3% to each extremity for twelve weeks at the rate of $408.55, totaling $4,902.60;

(5) On July 11, 2011, Dr. Johnny Mitias performed a bilateral carpal tunnel release ;

(6) On December 13, 2011, Dr. Mitias assessed a three percent impairment rating to the left upper extremity with no restrictions;

(7) [Isaac] reached maximum medical improvement on December 21, 2011; and,

(8) [Isaac]'s choice of physician was Dr. Creekmore, who referred [him] to Dr. Mitias.

¶ 7. Furthermore, the parties introduced the following exhibits:

Exhibit 1- Medical records affidavit and medical records of Dr. Mohammed Akbik;

Exhibit 2- Medical records affidavit and medical records of Baptist Memorial Hospital;

Exhibit 3- Medical records affidavit and medical records of Mitias Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine;

Exhibit 4- Medical records affidavit and medical records of Creekmore Clinic, PLLC;

Exhibit 5- Medical records affidavit and medical records of New Albany Medical Clinic; and,

Exhibit 6- Medical records affidavit and medical records of Dr. Cooper Terry.

¶ 8. At the hearing, Isaac testified that his hands were still weak, swelling, going numb, locking up, tingling, and cramping. According to Isaac, he had trouble using the frame gun and the crown gun needed to assemble the bed frames because his hands “would lock up and go numb and start tingling.” He testified that, post surgery, he still had difficulty holding on to things, and that he constantly dropped the frame parts and the guns.

¶ 9. Isaac explained that, as a cook at KFC, he had difficulty opening bags of frozen chicken. However, he could stir the batter and fry the chicken. Isaac also described an incident when another person had to help him open a soft drink because his grip was too weak to open it himself. He further explained that he had difficulty performing chores as a result of his condition. Isaac testified that he planned to have the surgery again as Dr. Akbik had recommended.

¶ 10. On August 30, 2013, the AJ entered an order finding that Isaac had failed to prove that he suffered an industrial loss of use of either extremity. Isaac filed an appeal with the full Commission. The full Commission affirmed the AJ's decision on April 14, 2014, leading to the instant appeal.

DISCUSSION

¶ 11. In Smith v. Johnston Tombigbee Furniture Mfg. Co., 43 So.3d 1159, 1164 (¶ 15) (Miss.Ct.App.2...