Treadway v. W. Va. Office of Ins. Comm'r

• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: Chief Justice Margaret L. Workman Justice Robin J. Davis Justice Brent D. Benjamin Justice Allen H. Loughry II
• Decision Date: 23 January 2015
• Docket Number: No. 14-0183,14-0183
• Citation: Treadway v. W. Va. Office of Ins. Comm'r, No. 14-0183 (W. Va. Jan 23, 2015)
• Parties: CURTIS L. TREADWAY, Claimant Below, Petitioner v. WEST VIRGINIA OFFICE OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONER, Commissioner Below, Respondent and TRIPLE S CORPORATION, Employer Below, Respondent

CURTIS L. TREADWAY, Claimant Below, Petitioner v. WEST VIRGINIA OFFICE OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONER, Commissioner Below, RespondentandTRIPLE S CORPORATION, Employer Below, Respondent

No. 14-0183

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

January 23, 2015

(BOR Appeal No. 2048667)

(Claim No. 920031478)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Petitioner Curtis L. Treadway, pro se, appeals the decision of the West Virginia Workers' Compensation Board of Review. West Virginia Office of Insurance Commissioner, by Anna L. Faulkner, its attorney, filed a timely response.

This appeal arises from the Board of Review's Final Order dated January 27, 2014, in which the Board affirmed a July 15, 2013, Order of the Workers' Compensation Office of Judges. In its Order, the Office of Judges affirmed the claims administrator's August 14, 2012, decision which denied the addition of cervical spondylosis and cervical spinal stenosis to the claim. The Court has carefully reviewed the records, written arguments, and appendices contained in the briefs, and the case is mature for consideration.

This Court has considered the parties' briefs and the record on appeal. The facts and legal arguments are adequately presented, and the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument. Upon consideration of the standard of review, the briefs, and the record presented, the Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For these reasons, a memorandum decision is appropriate under Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Mr. Treadway, a welder and fabricator, injured his neck and back in the course of his employment on January 10, 1992. The claim appears to have been held compensable for neck sprain/strain, thoracic sprain/strain, and closed vertebral dislocation. Mr. Treadway has undergone extensive cervical spine treatment, including two surgeries. An MRI taken in January of 2003 showed mild straightening of normal cervical lordosis, mild disc bulges at C2-3, mild central canal stenosis at C3-4, and disc-osteophytic bulges at C4-5. There was also bilateral degenerative joint disease which resulted in a slight deformity of the cord and moderate central canal stenosis. The findings had worsened since a previous exam.

On July 22, 2011, Chaunfang Jin, M.D., performed an independent medical evaluation. She noted that Mr. Treadway reported a different mechanism of injury than was indicated in the medical records reviewed. He stated to her that he was crushed between a piece of heavy metal and a metal column. She found that MRIs and CTs have shown progressive disc disease at multiple levels without trauma. She stated that Mr. Treadway was stable from 1993 to 1997, and his previous surgeries were likely not necessary for the compensable injury. His ongoing problems were found to likely be the result of degenerative disc disease and unrelated to the compensable injury. On July 6, 2012, the Office of Judges authorized a CT/myelogram. It found that Mr. Treadway certainly had pre-existing degenerative changes, and a myelogram was necessary to determine if his current symptoms are the result of the compensable injury or degenerative changes. The claims administrator denied a request to add cervical spondylosis and cervical spinal stenosis as compensable conditions of the claim on August 14, 2012, because the conditions are degenerative in nature.

In two supplemental reports in April of 2013, Dr. Jin stated that Mr. Treadway has non-work-related cervical degenerative disc disease. She noted that he had surgeries due to a progression of pre-existing degenerative disc disease. Dr. Jin was asked whether the conditions of cervical spondylosis and cervical spinal stenosis pre-existed the compensable injury. She determined that the compensable diagnoses in the claim are neck sprain/strain, thoracic sprain/strain, and closed dislocation of cervical vertebra. She stated that there is no radiographic evidence of cervical vertebra dislocation; therefore, the diagnosis is evidently incorrect. She also stated that the mechanism of injury is unclear. Mr. Treadway reported that he was injured while he was working on a crane and it jerked. He has also stated that he was injured pulling on a metal plate. In Dr. Jin's July 22, 2011, independent medical evaluation he reported that he was crushed between a piece of heavy metal and a metal column. Dr. Jin found that Mr. Treadway's clinical course is not consistent with an injury but is instead consistent with the natural history of degenerative disc disease. These symptoms often have a gradual onset and progressively worsen over time. She stated that cervical sprain/strain is not a condition that progresses or can cause spinal stenosis, and MRIs show a progression of degenerative disc disease. Dr. Jin noted that cervical spondylosis is a term for...