STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS FILED 

March 27, 2015 

RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK 

BETTY BOOTH, SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

OF WEST VIRGINIA 

Claimant Below, Petitioner 

vs.) No. 14-0607 (BOR Appeal No. 2048992) 

(Claim No. 2009061183) 

WEST VIRGINIA UNITED HEALTH SYSTEM, 

Employer Below, Respondent 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Petitioner Betty Booth, by Robert L. Stultz, her attorney, appeals the decision of the West 

Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. West Virginia United Health System, by 

Jillian L. Moore, its attorney, filed a timely response. 

This appeal arises from the Board of Review’s Final Order dated May 23, 2014, in which 

the Board affirmed a November 7, 2013, Order of the Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges. 

In its Order, the Office of Judges affirmed the claims administrator’s May 30, 2012, decision, 

which denied the addition of disc herniation and nerve impingement 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. 

Ms. Booth, a registered nurse, injured her lumbar spine in the course of her employment 

when she bent forward to start an IV on September 4, 2008. The claim was held compensable for 

displacement of thoracic or lumbar intervertebral disc without myelopathy. An MRI taken on 

September 21, 2008, showed that Ms. Booth had a moderate sized L2-3 herniated disc impinging 

on the left L2 nerve root. In a neurosurgical independent medical evaluation, Donald Whiting, 

M.D., recommended an L2-3 microdiscectomy. He opined that Ms. Booth’s L2-3 disc herniation 

and L4-5 stenosis were both the result of the compensable injury. In a January 19, 2010, letter, 

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Vincent Miele, M.D., stated that Ms. Booth’s most recent MRI showed excellent improvement in 

the L2-3 disc herniation. A September 30, 2011, MRI showed degenerative changes involving 

the facet joints and the intervertebral discs at multiple levels. There were disc bulges but no 

herniations. 

ChuanFang Jin, M.D., performed an independent medical evaluation on October 20, 

2011. She diagnosed a history of lumbar sprain/strain, degenerative disc disease as evident on 

MRI, and probable sensory radiculopathy in the left lower extremity. She stated that Ms. Booth 

did not suffer a trauma or injury to the lumbar spine because her back pain occurred while 

leaning forward. Dr. Jin noted that MRIs showed degenerative disc disease and stated that the 

disease takes years to develop and was not caused by the compensable injury. The compensable 

injury was a sprain/strain that requires no further treatment. Ms. Booth was found to be at 

maximum medical improvement. The claims administrator denied a request to add disc 

herniation and nerve impingement to the claim on May 30, 2012. 

Robert Bowers, M.D., Ms. Booth’s treating physician, testified in a deposition on March 

1, 2013. He stated that disc herniation and nerve impingement are appropriate diagnoses in this 

claim. He opined that the conditions are the result of the compensable injury. He based his 

conclusion on the September 21, 2008, MRI, which showed an L2-3 left herniated disc 

impinging on the left L2 nerve root. The MRI was taken seventeen days after the compensable 

injury occurred. He stated that based upon a September 30, 2011, MRI, Ms. Booth’s nerve 

impingement has improved. He admitted that disc herniations can improve by themselves. He 

stated that though the September 30, 2011, MRI calls the L2-3 area a disc bulge and not a 

herniation, deciding between the two is a gray area, and radiologists can differ on their 

terminology. He disagreed with Dr. Jin’s assertion that Ms. Booth required no further treatment 

because a sprain/strain heals within four weeks. Dr. Bowers stated that healing can take much 

longer. He stated that Ms. Booth had pre-existing degenerative spine conditions and that the 

work-related sprain/strain could have aggravated her pre-existing degenerative problems. He 

admitted that a neurosurgeon is more qualified to speak to the addition of disc herniation and 

nerve impingement to the claim. 

Dr. Jin performed a record review on June 26, 2013, in which she reiterated much of her 

previous opinion. She stated that the degenerative disc disease was likely present long before the 

compensable injury occurred. Back sprains/strains typically resolved within one to four weeks, 

and back pain that lasts longer than that is often suggestive of another etiology. She opined that 

Ms. Booth’s symptoms are not indicative of a mechanical traumatic disc herniation and noted 

that she had a fairly large L2-3 herniation right after the compensable injury. The herniation 

improved by itself, however, she continued to have pain. Dr. Jin stated that if the herniation were 

the sole cause of the pain, her pain would have improved. Therefore, Dr. Jin concluded that even 

if there were a mechanical soft tissue injury, it would not have sped up or aggravated the 

underlying degenerative disc disease. 

The Office of Judges affirmed the claims administrator’s decision in its November 7, 

2013, Order. It found that Dr. Jin’s independent medical evaluation and record review were 

persuasive. Dr. Bowers’s deposition testimony was given consideration but ultimately not found 

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to be persuasive. The Office of Judges concluded that the evidence does not support the addition 

of disc herniation and nerve impingement to the claim. It stated that Ms. Booth has significant 

pre-existing degeneration, and the mechanics of the injury do not support the additional 

diagnoses. The Board of Review adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the 

Office of Judges and affirmed its Order on May 23, 2014. 

On appeal, Ms. Booth argues that Drs. Whiting and Bowers both opined, based upon 

MRI results, that the additional diagnoses were the result of the compensable injury. She further 

asserts that Dr. Whiting is an independent neurosurgeon, and his opinion should be given greater 

weight than that of Dr. Jin. West Virginia United Health System argues that Ms. Booth suffers 

from a degenerative condition in her lumbar spine that is the cause of her ongoing symptoms. It 

further asserts that Dr. Miele’s treatment notes indicate that her request to add disc herniation 

and nerve impingement to the claim arose after an onset of new symptoms. It also argues that the 

mechanism of injury does not comport with a disc herniation. After review, we agree with the 

reasoning of the Office of Judges and the conclusions of the Board of Review. Ms. Booth 

suffered from extensive pre-existing degenerative changes, and the mechanism of injury is not 

consistent with a herniated disc. 

For the foregoing reasons, we find that the decision of the Board of Review is not in clear 

violation of any constitutional or statutory provision, nor is it clearly the result of erroneous 

conclusions of law, nor is it based upon a material misstatement or mischaracterization of the 

evidentiary record. Therefore, the decision of the Board of Review is affirmed. 

Affirmed. 

ISSUED: March 27, 2015 

CONCURRED IN BY: 

Justice Robin J. Davis 

Justice Brent D. Benjamin 

Justice Allen H. Loughry II 

DISSENTING: 

Chief Justice Margaret L. Workman 

Justice Menis E. Ketchum 

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