COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Chief Judge Fitzpatrick, Judges Willis and Bumgardner 

Argued at Salem, Virginia 

PITT DES MOINES, INC. AND 

 EMPLOYERS INSURANCE OF WAUSAU 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY 

v. Record No. 0974-98-3 JUDGE RUDOLPH BUMGARDNER, III 

 JANUARY 26, 1999 

RANDY W. BUSBEE 

 FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION 

 Stephen A. Strickler (Matthew H. Kraft; 

McCardell & Inman, P.L.C., on brief), for 

appellants. 

 Linda D. Slough (Chandler, Franklin & 

O'Bryan, on brief), for appellee. 

 Pitt Des Moines, Inc. appeals a decision of the Workers' 

Compensation Commission that awarded the claimant benefits for 

injuries received when he fell at work. Pitt Des Moines argues 

that the commission erred when it held that the claimant suffered 

low back injuries caused by the fall. Concluding that the record 

contains credible medical evidence that supports the award, we 

affirm the commission's decision. 

 The standard of our review of the commission's findings of 

fact is well established. 

 We do not retry the facts before the 

Commission nor do we review the weight, 

preponderance of the evidence, or the 

credibility of witnesses. If there is 

evidence or reasonable inference that can be 

drawn from the evidence to support the 

Commission's findings, they will not be 

 *Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, recodifying Code § 17-116.010, 

this opinion is not designated for publication. 
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disturbed by this Court on appeal, even 

though there is evidence in the record to 

support contrary findings of fact. 

Caskey v. Dan River Mills, Inc., 225 Va. 405, 411, 302 S.E.2d 

507, 510-11 (1983) (citations omitted). 

 The claimant, Randy Busbee, fell off a ladder on December 9, 

1996, while working as a welder building a water tower. He fell 

a distance, variously described as from five to twenty feet, onto 

a rock floor and landed on his back and neck. Though at first he 

did not feel that he was injured, shortly afterwards he told his 

supervisor that he was hurt and went to get medical attention. 

Dr. Arbabi at Express Care referred him to a neurologist, Dr. 

Jonathan R. Amy, who released Busbee to light duty work. Busbee 

returned to light duty, but received permission to leave the job 

two days before the project ended so that he could go to his home 

in Florida. He planned to return to work on January 7, 1997, at 

the employer's next project where light duty work was available. 

 When Busbee returned from Florida, he got permission to see 

Dr. Ethan O. Todd. Dr. Todd saw him on January 7, 1997 and took 

him off work. Busbee reported this to Pitt Des Moines, and its 

insurer requested that Busbee see a physical medicine and 

rehabilitation specialist, Dr. Howard B. Weiss. Busbee saw him 

January 23, 1997. 

 On January 13, 1997, Busbee was videotaped while he worked 

for a concrete company. The video shows him without apparent 

difficulty stooping, bending, shoveling, lifting, and carrying 
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materials including boards about eight feet long. 

 After carefully reviewing the medical record, the deputy 

commissioner concluded that Busbee suffered a compensable injury 

to his back, right leg, right shoulder, right arm and neck on 

December 9, 1996. The deputy commissioner awarded benefits from 

December 9 through December 11, 1996, and January 7 through 

January 12, 1997, and awarded medical benefits for as long as 

necessary. Pitt Des Moines appealed claiming Busbee did not 

suffer an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of 

his employment, did not suffer any disability, did not suffer any 

low back injury, and the deputy commissioner incorrectly 

calculated weekly wages. The full commission affirmed the award 

modifying only the average weekly wage. 

 On this appeal, Pitt Des Moines limits its argument to the 

complaints of low back injury. It argues that the record is 

insufficient to establish an injury to the low back by accident 

or to establish a causal relation between any low back injury and 

the accident. Pitt Des Moines argues that the commission erred 

in failing to address all relevant and material evidence. We 

disagree and conclude that credible medical evidence supports the 

commission's findings that Busbee suffered a lower back injury 

that was causally related to his industrial accident on December 

9, 1996. 

 Dr. Arbabi saw Busbee at Express Care on December 9, 1996. 

He complained of right arm and leg numbness, with upper back and 
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neck pain, and a burning feeling between his shoulders. On 

December 11, 1996, Busbee complained to Dr. Amy of pain in the 

shoulder and right neck area with a burning pain on the right 

side of the cervical spine. The doctor noted some pain in the 

medial aspect of the right elbow and tingling in two fingers of 

the right hand. On December 17, Busbee reported to Dr. Amy 

continued neck and arm pain that was sometimes worse than 

previously reported. 

 Dr. Todd first saw Busbee on January 7, 1997 when Busbee 

complained of tingling fingers, occasional low back pain, and 

pain radiating in the right thigh. That was the first specific 

reference in the doctors' records to lower back problems. 

Busbee's most consistent complaints were pain in the upper back, 

primarily on the right side. On January 14, 1997, Busbee 

complained to Dr. Todd of an episode of sudden pain to the right 

arm and leg that caused him to fall. Dr. Todd's physical 

findings that day did not differ from his previous examination. 

On January 28, 1997, he noted the claimant had limited motion in 

his neck and low back. 

 Dr. Weiss saw Busbee on January 23, 1997. He noted that 

Busbee's primary complaint was low back and neck pain, right 

trapezial pain, and right leg and right arm pain. On examination 

Busbee moved without difficulty. Busbee said that activity 

produced back pain and that leg and back pain limited walking. 

Dr. Weiss diagnosed cervical trapezial sprain and lumbosacral 
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sprain that he believed were causally related to the December 9, 

1996 injury. 

 Dr. Todd saw the videotape of Busbee working at the concrete 

company on January 13, 1997, and he was questioned whether it 

changed his opinion. Dr. Todd acknowledged that Busbee's 

subjective complaints made the day after the videotape were 

inconsistent with what Todd observed on the videotape. Dr. Todd 

did not find Busbee's complaints to be exaggerated and 

acknowledged that they were consistent as to location and degree 

of pain. He also believed that Busbee's work on January 13 

aggravated his condition, and the examination on January 14, 1997 

reflected that. Based on the tape, Dr. Todd would not restrict 

Busbee's bending, lifting, or climbing. 

 After watching the videotape, Dr. Weiss said he would have 

placed no restrictions on Busbee. While he acknowledged that he 

made his observations based on Busbee's subjective complaints, 

Dr. Weiss saw no indications that Busbee exaggerated his 

complaints. Dr. Weiss stated that he had no way of knowing 

whether the work Busbee performed on January 13 affected his 

examination on January 14. 

 "[T]he commission must review all relevant evidence having a 

bearing on a case and cannot comply with the Act where the record 

is incomplete . . . ." Dynalectric Co. v. Ellis, 19 Va. App. 

541, 547, 452 S.E.2d 372, 376 (1995). The commission is required 

to base its findings of fact on credible evidence, but not to 
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recite all of the evidence in its opinion. See id. at 546, 452 

S.E.2d at 375; Code § 65.2-705. In Dynalectric, the employer 

appealed a commission's decision, which noted that "'[n]o useful 

purpose would be served by our review of the extensive record'" 

which consisted of two thousand pages of medical evidence. Id.

at 546, 452 S.E.2d at 375. As in Dynalectric, "no evidence is 

missing from the record, nor is there any indication that the 

commission refused to review any relevant evidence brought to its 

attention." Id. at 547, 452 S.E.2d at 376. Cf. Flavin v. J.C. 

Penney Co., Inc., 1 Va. App. 1, 332 S.E.2d 805 (1985) (commission 

erred when it refused to review relevant evidence). 

 Contrary to Pitt Des Moines’s assertion, the commission’s 

decision reflects consideration of the entire record, and it 

specifically incorporates the deputy's findings into its opinion. 

 On December 9, 1996, Busbee complained of upper back pain with a 

burning feeling between the shoulders to Dr. Arbabi. On December 

11, 1996, he complained of burning pain on the right side of the 

cervical spine to Dr. Amy. On January 7, 1997, Dr. Todd noted 

that Busbee complained of occasional low back pain and more 

consistent pain in the upper back. Busbee's primary complaint on 

January 23, 1997 to Dr. Weiss was low back and neck pain. We 

conclude that there is evidence in the record that Busbee 

suffered injury to his back including his lower back. 

 Pitt Des Moines asserts that even if there was evidence of 

low back pain, the record is devoid of evidence establishing a 
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causal relationship between the fall and such problems. Dr. Todd 

testified that Busbee's complaints were consistent as to location 

and severity and that he did not exaggerate. Dr. Weiss also 

testified that Busbee's primary complaint was pain in his lower 

back and neck. Drs. Arbabi and Amy both noted Busbee's complaint 

of pain between the shoulders and on the right side of the 

cervical spine respectively. Both observations relate to 

reported complaints of back pain in December 1996. "The fact 

that there is contrary evidence in the record is of no 

consequence if there is credible evidence to support the 

commission's finding." Wagner Enters., Inc. v. Brooks, 12 Va. 

App. 890, 894, 407 S.E.2d 32, 35 (1991) (citation omitted). See

McPeek v. P.W. & W. Coal Co., Inc., 210 Va. 185, 188, 169 S.E.2d 

443, 445 (1969). 

 Pitt Des Moines stresses the value of the evidence recorded 

on the videotape which shows the claimant doing physical labor. 

Pitt Des Moines argues that the video evidence destroys the 

validity of the doctors' opinions made after Busbee returned from 

Florida. It argues that the commission should only look at the 

emergency room doctor's findings and the opinions made before 

January 7, 1997. When so limited, no evidence shows that Busbee 

suffered an injury to his lower back because the videotape 

renders the claimant's subjective complaints unbelievable. 

 It is true that a doctor's opinion based on a faulty premise 

is not entitled to weight when resolving conflicting evidence. 
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See Clinchfield Coal Co. v. Bowman, 229 Va. 249, 252, 329 S.E.2d 

15, 16 (1985). However, the evidence in the videotape does not 

undermine all evidence supporting the claimant's proof of injury. 

 He did fall and did suffer compensable injuries. The tape does 

establish that the claimant was not limited after January 13, 

1997, and the commission ruled that the tape rebutted any claim 

of injury after that date. However, that does not conclusively 

rebut the claim of injury before that date. The commission must 

evaluate conflicting evidence and determine the inferences to 

draw from it. The record shows that the commission evaluated all 

the evidence including the videotape and the doctors' testimony 

after they saw it. Determining whether Busbee suffered an injury 

is a finding of fact that will not be disturbed on appeal. 

 For these reasons, we conclude that the evidence supports 

the commission's finding that Busbee injured his lower back on 

December 9, 1996. We affirm the commission's decision. 

 Affirmed.