Peagler v. Tyson Foods, Inc.

• Decision Date: 05 July 2000
• Docket Number: No. COA99-618.,COA99-618.
• Citation: 138 NC App. 593,532 S.E.2d 207
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: Granvil PEAGLER, Employee-Plaintiff, v. TYSON FOODS, INC., Self Insured, Self Administered, Employer-Defendant.

532 S.E.2d 207

138 NC App. 593

Granvil PEAGLER, Employee-Plaintiff, v. TYSON FOODS, INC., Self Insured, Self Administered, Employer-Defendant.

No. COA99-618.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

July 5, 2000.

James S. Weidner, Jr., Charlotte, for plaintiff-appellee.

Orbock Bowden Ruark & Dillard, PC, by Maureen Tierney Orbock, Winston-Salem, for defendant-appellant.

EAGLES, Chief Judge.

Defendant Tyson Foods, Inc. appeals from an order of the Industrial Commission awarding the plaintiff workers' compensation benefits for a work-related injury which occurred on 28 April 1993.

Evidence before the Commission included the following: Plaintiff Granvil Peagler began working for Defendant Tyson Foods in 1985. Mr. Peagler had dropped out of school after the third grade and was illiterate. At Tyson Foods, Mr. Peagler's job entailed washing out eighteen wheeler refrigeration trucks, checking the tire pressure and fuel level, and moving the trucks as needed. On 28 April 1993, plaintiff, age fifty six, was working during his shift when he had difficulty closing one of the rear doors on a refrigeration truck. Plaintiff stood on the bumper of the truck and struck the lock on the trailer door with his left hand, which immediately caused pain in his arm. Plaintiff went to the employer's medical department and bought two Tylenol tablets for the pain. The next morning, while at work, plaintiff experienced pain in his arm, shoulder, and chest. Plaintiff went to the medical department and told the personnel on duty that he needed to go see his doctor. He then left work to visit his family doctor, Dr. Willis.

Over the next few days, plaintiff was examined by several different physicians. The doctors initially thought that plaintiff might have had a heart attack. However, after an MRI on 4 May 1993, the doctors concluded that plaintiff suffered from a herniated disc. The test indicated that plaintiff had "cervical osteophytic spurring, mild disc stenosis, ... a disc herniation at the C4-5 level, ... and disc protrusions/herniations noted at the C3-4, C5-6 and C6-7 levels." On 24 May 1993, Dr. Darden, an orthopedic surgeon, operated on plaintiff for "a microscopic anterior cervical discotomy and fusion at C6-7, and a right anterior iliac crest bone graft."

Defendant placed plaintiff on disability medical leave after this incident. Plaintiff's wife went to the benefits department to renew his leave each month. However, Mrs. Peagler did not inform the defendant-employer's benefit counselor that her husband's injury was work-related.

Plaintiff filed a Notice of Accident on 14 April 1994 for the injury that occurred on 28 April 1993. Deputy Commissioner Mary M. Hoag concluded that the plaintiff sustained a compensable injury on 28 April 1993; that his failure to report his injury in a timely manner was excusable and defendants were not prejudiced by this delay; and that defendants were not entitled to a credit for the disability payments made to the plaintiff. The defendant appealed to the full Commission.

The full Commission affirmed the deputy commissioner's decision and ordered the defendant to pay plaintiff temporary total disability compensation, medical bills related to plaintiff's injury, and attorneys fees. The Industrial Commission's award is based on the following findings of fact:

30. According to Dr. Darden, plaintiff's attempt to close the truck doors on 28 April 1993 could have caused plaintiff's neck, left arm and shoulder injuries. However, plaintiff's disc degeneration at C4-5, C5-6, and C7 was more likely than not normal wear and tear. The aging process causes degenerative disc disease and that trauma can cause it to be symptomatic.

....

37. Plaintiff sustained an injury by way of specific traumatic injury of the work assigned on 28 April 1993. Plaintiff's problems related to his left arm, shoulder and neck, involving the herniation of a cervical disc at C6-7.

....

39. ... There is no evidence of record that plaintiff is able to perform work of any kind or to earn wages of any kind. Moreover, there is no evidence of record that any job exists for which plaintiff is suited given his educational and physical limitations, age and experience.

Defendant filed a motion for reconsideration on 5 February 1998, which the full Commission denied. Defendant appeals.

On appeal from an award of the Industrial Commission, the scope of our appellate review is limited to two questions: (1) whether the Commission's findings of fact are supported by competent evidence in the record; and (2) whether the findings of fact justify the Commission's conclusions of law. See Sanders v. Broyhill Furniture Indus., 131 N.C.App. 383, 387, 507 S.E.2d 568, 570 (1998),

disc. review denied, 350 N.C. 99, 528 S.E.2d 367 (1999). This Court does not weigh the evidence; if there is any competent evidence which supports the Commission's findings, we are bound by their findings even though there may be evidence to the contrary. See Hansel v. Sherman Textiles, 304 N.C. 44, 283 S.E.2d 101 (1981). Furthermore, it is well established that the Worker's Compensation Act "`should be liberally construed to the end that the benefits thereof should not be denied upon technical, narrow and strict interpretation.'" Hall v. Thomason Chevrolet, Inc., 263 N.C. 569, 576, 139 S.E.2d 857, 862 (1965) (citations omitted).

We first consider whether the Industrial Commission erred in concluding that the plaintiff's medical condition and disability is the result of the 28 April 1993 incident. The defendant argues that the Commission erred in affirming the award of compensation because the plaintiff did not establish that his condition was caused by the work-related incident. In order for there to be a compensable claim for workers' compensation, there must be proof of a causal relationship between the injury and the employment. See Booker v. Duke Medical Center, 297 N.C. 458, 475, 256 S.E.2d 189, 200 (1979)

. The injury is compensable if "`it is fairly traceable to the employment' or `any reasonable relationship to the employment exists.'" Rivera v. Trapp, 135 N.C.App. 296, 301, 519 S.E.2d 777, 780 (1999) (quoting Shaw v. Smith and Jennings, Inc., 130 N.C.App. 442, 445, 503 S.E.2d 113, 116,

disc. review denied, 349 N.C. 363, 525 S.E.2d 175 (1998)). In evaluating the causation issue, "this Court can do no more than examine the record to determine whether any competent evidence exists to support the Commission's findings as to causation...." Young v. Hickory Business Furniture, 137 N.C.App. 51, 55, 527 S.E.2d 344, 348 (2000). "[W]hen conflicting evidence is presented, `the Commission's finding of causal connection between the accident and the disability is conclusive.'" Bailey v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 131 N.C.App. 649, 655, 508 S.E.2d 831, 835 (1998) (quoting Anderson v. Lincoln Construction Co., 265 N.C. 431, 434, 144 S.E.2d 272, 275 (1965)).

Here, expert medical testimony was required to establish causation. This Court has stated "where the exact nature and probable genesis of a particular type of injury involves complicated medical questions far removed from the ordinary experience and knowledge of laymen, only an expert can give competent opinion evidence as to the cause of the injury." Porter v. Fieldcrest Cannon, Inc., 133 N.C.App. 23, 29, 514 S.E.2d 517, 522 (1999) (quoting Click v. Pilot Freight Carriers, 300 N.C. 164, 167, 265 S.E.2d 389, 391 (1980)). In Click v. Pilot Freight Carriers, 300 N.C. 164, 265 S.E.2d 389 (1980), the Court determined that expert medical testimony was required to establish causation between a specific trauma and the rupture of the plaintiff's invertebral disc. Click, 300 N.C. at 169,265 S.E.2d at 392. See also Gillikin v. Burbage, 263 N.C. 317, 325, 139 S.E.2d 753, 760 (1965)

.

Here, the plaintiff's doctor, Dr. Darden, testified that he examined the plaintiff on 11 May 1993 and operated on Mr. Peagler's herniated disc on 24 May 1993. On 1 June 1993, Mr. Peagler told Dr. Darden about the work-related incident involving the trailer door. When asked on direct examination whether the incident Mr. Peagler described could have caused Mr. Peagler's disc problems, Dr. Darden testified, "[i]t could have."

However, on cross examination, the following exchange took place:

DEFENDANT'S ATTORNEY: And isn't it true that with a herniated disc ... this can have any number of causes, can't it?

DOCTOR DARDEN: That's correct.

Q: And you can herniate a disc by bending over to tie your shoe, right?

A. That's correct.

Q. Sneezing?

A. Yes.

Q. Even rolling over in bed you can herniate a disc; is that correct?

A. That's theoretically possible.

Q. So, really, from looking at the CAT scan or the MRI, there is no way to tell what the cause of the disc herniation is, is there?

A. No.

Q. And you can't be sure, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, what caused Mr. Peagler's disc herniation in his neck, can you?

A. That's correct.

....

Q. Now, with this MRI that was done, it says that he has a disc herniation in the lower back. You have no idea what caused that, do you?

A. No.

Defendant argues that the doctor's testimony, viewed as a whole, indicates that his opinion as to the cause of plaintiff's disc injury was based upon mere speculation.

At the outset, we note that the expert testimony need not show that the work incident caused the injury to a "reasonable degree of medical certainty." Cooke v. P.H. Glatfelter/Ecusta, 130 N.C.App. 220, 224, 502 S.E.2d 419, 422 (1998). Rather, the competent evidence must provide "some evidence that the accident at least might have or could have produced the particular disability in question." Porter v. Fieldcrest Cannon, Inc., 133 N.C.App. 23, 28, 514 S.E.2d 517, 522 (1999) (quoting Click v. Pilot Freight Carriers, 300 N.C. 164, 167, 265 S.E.2d 389, 391 (1980)).

This case is analogous to Buck v. Procter & Gamble Co., 52 N.C.App. 88, 94-95, 278 S.E.2d 268, 272-73 (1981), where the plaintiff's doctor testified that the...