SCHUTJER v. ALGONA MANOR CARE CENTER
| Citation | 780 N.W.2d 549 |
| Decision Date | 14 April 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-1748.,06-1748. |
| Parties | Amy Ann SCHUTJER, Appellant, v. ALGONA MANOR CARE CENTER and Iowa Long Term Care Risk Management Association, Appellees. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Mark S. Soldat of Soldat & Parrish-Sams, P.L.C., West Des Moines, for appellant.
Michael L. Mock of Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C., Des Moines, for appellees.
This workers' compensation case comes to us on further review from the court of appeals. The appellee, Algona Manor Care Center, does not dispute that the appellant, Amy Schutjer, sustained an injury to her lower back on December 2, 2002, that arose out of and in the course of her employment with Algona Manor. In fact, Algona Manor paid Schutjer temporary benefits. The parties do, however, disagree with respect to the following matters: (1) the correct rate for benefits, (2) Schutjer's entitlement to additional temporary total and temporary partial disability benefits, (3) Schutjer's entitlement to permanent partial disability benefits, and (4) the propriety of penalty benefits. The workers' compensation commissioner sided with Algona Manor on these issues, agreeing with Algona Manor's calculation of the rate and awarding no additional benefits.
On Schutjer's appeal to the district court, the court determined the employer had incorrectly calculated the rate, and the commissioner had improperly refused to award temporary benefits for certain days between December 2, 2002, and January 4, 2003. The district court affirmed the commissioner's decision with respect to a denial of temporary benefits after January 4, 2003, finding substantial evidence to support the commissioner's determination that Schutjer voluntarily quit her employment on January 5. The district court also affirmed the commissioner's refusal to award permanent partial disability benefits. Finally, the court concluded that, in view of the court's reversal as to the correct rate, the commissioner should reconsider whether penalty benefits should be imposed.
Both parties appealed, and the case was transferred to the court of appeals. That court affirmed the district court with respect to the proper rate and the need for reconsideration of penalty benefits. As for temporary benefits, the court of appeals agreed with the district court that Schutjer was entitled to temporary benefits for certain days between December 2, 2002, and January 4, 2003. The court of appeals disagreed with the district court on two issues. The court of appeals concluded that the commissioner had not properly analyzed the question of Schutjer's entitlement to temporary benefits after she left employment on January 5, and that the commissioner had failed to provide adequate detail in his decision to support his conclusion that Schutjer had no permanent disability. Therefore, the court of appeals reversed the denial of temporary benefits after January 5, 2003, and the denial of permanent partial disability benefits.
Algona Manor sought further review. We granted further review to consider whether the commissioner properly determined Schutjer was not entitled to temporary benefits after January 4, 2003, and whether the commissioner adequately detailed his reasons for finding Schutjer had not sustained a permanent disability. See Anderson v. State, 692 N.W.2d 360, 363 (Iowa 2005) ().1 We find no basis for reversal with respect to either matter. Therefore, we vacate that part of the court of appeals' decision reversing the district court on these two issues. We affirm the district court's decision and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings.
We limit our recitation of the evidence and history of this case to those facts and rulings that are pertinent to the two issues we have chosen to address on further review.
A. Injury and Medical Treatment. At the time of her injury on December 2, 2002, Amy Schutjer worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Algona Manor Care Center. On that date, she and another CNA were transferring a resident from the resident's bed to a wheelchair. During this maneuver, Schutjer experienced a sharp pain in her left hip area that radiated into her back and down her left leg.
Algona Manor immediately sent Schutjer to the Kossuth Regional Health Center where Schutjer saw a physician's assistant. Schutjer described what had happened and denied any history of prior back problems, even though her medical and employment records from approximately 1991 onward indicate numerous complaints of back pain, including a back injury in 1991 as a result of being thrown from a horse. X-rays of the lumbrosacral spine and left hip taken at the health center were essentially normal. Due to her continued complaints of severe pain, Schutjer was administered a pain medication injection and given a prescription for pain medication. She was also taken off work until December 9, 2002.
On December 9, 2002, Schutjer returned to the health center for a scheduled appointment with Dr. Burt Bottjen. Schutjer reported to Dr. Bottjen that the pain medication had not helped much. After observing and examining the patient, Dr. Bottjen concluded her complaints were exaggerated and inconsistent with the reported injury. He increased her pain medication and advised her to work with her workers' compensation carrier to find another physician, as he would not be able to help her.
The employer authorized care with Dr. Kevin Culbert. Dr. Culbert first saw Schutjer on December 12, 2002. In relaying her medical history, Schutjer again denied any history of back problems. She also provided a somewhat different version of the incident that precipitated her current pain, stating that during the transfer the resident slipped, jerking Schutjer's back forward in a flexed position. Dr. Culbert diagnosed Schutjer with acute low back pain with left sciatica. He prescribed medication, continued physical therapy, and ordered modified work duties to include no lifting over ten pounds, no bending or twisting, no stooping or crouching, and no pushing or pulling.
The employer constructed and provided Schutjer's supervisors with a list of light-duty activities that would be appropriate for Schutjer to perform within her restrictions. Schutjer returned to work on December 17, 2002.
On December 27, 2002, Schutjer underwent an MRI that showed bulging at L4-5, but no significant encroachment on the spinal canal. Due to Schutjer's continuing pain, Dr. Culbert maintained duty restrictions, continued her pain medication, and ordered a consult with anesthesiology for pain management.
On January 2, 2003, Schutjer received a lumbar epidural steroid injection. That same day, she notified Dr. Culbert that she was not getting much help at work to stay within restrictions and had to do some bending, twisting, and pulling. Dr. Culbert advised Schutjer to speak to the charge nurse or head of human resources about this.
On January 5, 2003, Schutjer reported to work, but a few hours after the shift started, Schutjer and the charge nurse got into a dispute when the nurse requested that Schutjer clean commode buckets, bedpans, and urinals. Schutjer advised the nurse that she could not bend down to clean commodes. According to the charge nurse, when she instructed Schutjer that Schutjer could still clean the urinals, Schutjer became angry, swung her arms around, stating "I'm leaving, I quit," and stormed out the door.
The following day, the nursing supervisor informed the workers' compensation claims adjuster that Schutjer had terminated her employment with Algona Manor. The claims adjuster informed the supervisor that Schutjer had called the carrier and left a message about the incident in which she claimed she was being asked to do tasks she could not do. The supervisor denied this was the case.
That same day, Schutjer called the supervisor to ask, "What's going on?" Schutjer denied she had quit the night before, claiming the charge nurse had asked her to leave. The supervisor countered, however, that it was her understanding the charge nurse had asked Schutjer to leave only after Schutjer had twice refused to follow the charge nurse's request to clean urinals. Upon reconfirmation of the facts with the charge nurse, the supervisor advised Schutjer that Algona Manor was accepting her "I quit" as her termination. Schutjer did not return to Algona Manor to work after this incident.
Schutjer continued to see Dr. Culbert for her low back pain. Having been advised by Schutjer that she had obtained no relief with the epidural injection, Dr. Culbert referred her to Dr. Palit, an orthopedic surgeon.
On January 22, 2003, Dr. Palit saw Schutjer for the first time. After examining her and reviewing the prior MRI, Dr. Palit's diagnosis was "mild lumbar degenerative disc disease" for which he ordered physical therapy and allowed light-duty work with a twenty-pound lifting restriction and no bending, twisting, kneeling, or crawling. However, like Dr. Bottjen, Dr. Palit found "the patient's pain complaints and manifestation ... out of proportion to her physical and radiographic findings." He was also surprised by her report that, the night before, she had experienced an acute onset of total paralysis from the waist down that lasted about an hour. His surprise focused on the fact that Schutjer did not seek medical care because "she knew she was going to see me the next morning." Dr. Palit found Schutjer's attitude about this alleged incident to be "very cavalier" "for this apparently devastating experience of total paralysis."
On February 28, 2003, Schutjer returned to see Dr. Palit for ongoing low back pain with bilateral lower extremity pain....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Irving v. Emp't Appeal Bd.
...not overtly complex and concerns “terms that do not on their face appear to be technical in nature”); see also Schutjer v. Algona Manor Care Ctr., 780 N.W.2d 549, 558 (Iowa 2010). Like the district court, we discern no clear indication in the statute requiring Renda deference and conclude t......
-
Neal v. Annett Holdings, Inc.
...agency,” we are bound by the commissioner's findings of fact if they are supported by substantial evidence. Schutjer v. Algona Manor Care Ctr., 780 N.W.2d 549, 557 (Iowa 2010) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); Meyer v. IBP, Inc., 710 N.W.2d 213, 219 (Iowa 2006). Further, the ......
-
Staff Mgmt. & New Hampshire Ins. Co. v. Jimenez
...that an employer must take into account an employee's work restrictions when providing suitable work. See Schutjer v. Algona Manor Care Ctr., 780 N.W.2d 549, 559 (Iowa 2010). It is disingenuous for Staff Management to argue that they offered her a job that she was unable to perform, which i......
-
Mercy Hosp. Iowa City v. Goodner
...we will reverse the agency's decision only if it is “irrational, illogical, or wholly unjustifiable.” Schutjer v. Algona Manor Care Ctr., 780 N.W.2d 549, 558 (Iowa 2010). We accord some deference to the agency's determinations, but less than we give to the agency's findings of fact. Larson ......