VFP, INC. v. Shepherd
Citation | 39 Va. App. 289,572 S.E.2d 510 |
Decision Date | 26 November 2002 |
Docket Number | Record No. 1191-02-3. |
Parties | VFP, INC. and Federal Insurance Company v. Berle SHEPHERD. |
Court | Court of Appeals of Virginia |
Robert C. Baker, Jr. (Dobbs & Baker, on brief), for appellants.
(Robert B. Hines, II; Montgomery & Hines, PC, on brief), Jonesville, for appellee. Appellee submitting on brief.
Present: FITZPATRICK, C.J., and BUMGARDNER and FELTON, JJ.
VFP, Inc. (employer), contends the Work. ers' Compensation Commission (commission) erred in awarding medical and temporary total benefits to Berle Shepherd (claimant). The sole issue on appeal is whether credible evidence supports the commission's finding that claimant's injury arose out of his employment. We affirm the commission.
On February 12, 2001, while claimant was assembling a building for employer, he injured his back descending from a scaffold on "ladder-type" steps. The photographs admitted into evidence establish the scaffolding to be approximately ten feet high and accessed only by the ladder-type steps. He carried a remote control device either over his shoulder or in his hand. Claimant described the steps, as grated metal and approximately two feet in width. Claimant stated, "I was bringing a wall off the wall rack and was coming down the steps and slipped and caught myself and hurt my back." He said he did not fall, but slipped down one step. He said he "had the [crane] control over my right ... arm." Claimant reported the injury to his supervisor and sought medical treatment the same day. Claimant did not state directly that a "condition of the workplace caused his injury."1
Claimant treated with Dr. J. Bryston Winegar and was diagnosed with acute muscoligamentous lumbar strain. He underwent a CT scan which showed a bulging disc at L-5, S-1 with no encroachment on the thecal sac or nerve root. He was treated conservatively with medication and rest. Physical therapy was prescribed but never completed.
Claimant filed a claim for benefits. The deputy commissioner denied the claim because although the "claimant suffered an injury by accident that occurred during the course of employment, . . . we [sic] cannot find that his accident and injury arose out of the employment."
Claimant appealed, and the commission reversed the deputy commissioner's decision. The commission found that:
Employer contends that no credible evidence supports the commission's finding that claimant's injury arose out of his employment. We disagree.
"On appeal, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the claimant, who prevailed before the commission." Allen & Rocks, Inc. v. Briggs, 28 Va.App. 662, 672, 508 S.E.2d 335, 340 (1998) (citations omitted). "`Decisions of the commission as to questions of fact, if supported by credible evidence, are conclusive and binding on this Court.'" WLR Foods v. Cardosa, 26 Va.App. 220, 230, 494 S.E.2d 147, 152 (1997) (quoting Manassas Ice & Fuel Co. v. Farrar, 13 Va.App. 227, 229, 409 S.E.2d 824, 826 (1991)). "Where reasonable inferences may be drawn from the evidence in support of the commission's factual findings, they will not be disturbed by this Court on appeal." Hawks v. Henrico County School Board, 7 Va.App. 398, 404, 374 S.E.2d 695, 698 (1988). "[The Workers' Compensation Act] has always required the claimant to carry the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, ... an `injury by accident'... arising out of and . . . in the course of, the employment." Morris v. Morris, 238 Va. 578, 584, 385 S.E.2d 858, 862 (1989).
"We have held that in order for a fall on stairs to be compensable there must either be a defect in the stairs or claimant must have fallen as a result of a condition of employment." Buchanan School Board v. Horton, 35 Va.App. 26, 29, 542 S.E.2d 783, 785 (2001) (citing Southside Virginia Training Center v. Shell, 20 Va.App. 199, 203, 455 S.E.2d 761, 763 (1995)).
Employer contends that claimant failed to establish that his fall and injury were sufficiently work related to trigger coverage because he did not, in his testimony, directly link the injury to a condition of his...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
King William Cnty. v. Jones
...reverse a factual finding of the Commission only if it is not supported by credible evidence in the record. VFP, Inc. v. Shepherd , 39 Va.App. 289, 292, 572 S.E.2d 510, 511–12 (2002).II. Partial Versus Total DisabilityIt is important to recognize that, having returned to a light-duty positi......
-
Paramont Coal Co. Virginia, LLC v. McCoy
...evidence. Jackson v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Inc., 64 Va. App. 459, 463, 769 S.E.2d 276, 278 (2015) (quoting VFP, Inc. v. Shepherd, 39 Va. App. 289, 292, 572 S.E.2d 510, 511 (2002) ). These principles apply "even [if] there is evidence in the record to support a contrary finding." City of W......
-
McCluster v. Baltazar
...of a claim." City of Waynesboro v. Griffin, 51 Va. App. 308, 313, 657 S.E.2d 782, 784 (2008) (quoting VFP, Inc. v. Shepherd, 39 Va. App. 289, 293, 572 S.E.2d 510, 512 (2002)). The burden lies with the claimant "to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the accident 'arose out of and ......
-
Enterprises v. Cooper
...we must uphold the commission's determination if there is credible evidence in the record to support it. VFP, Inc. v. Shepherd, 39 Va. App. 289, 292, 572 S.E.2d 510, 511(2002). Additionally, we grant the commission all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the evidence. Id. at 292, 5......