COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Benton, Coleman and Willis 

CLINTON'S REPAIR SERVICE, INC. 

AND 

ERIE INSURANCE EXCHANGE MEMORANDUM OPINION*

 PER CURIAM 

v. Record No. 0133-97-3 JULY 1, 1997 

TERRY WILLIAM LESTER 

 FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION 

 (Christopher M. Kite; Monica L. Taylor; 

Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore, on brief), for 

appellants. 

 (Ginger J. Largen; Morefield, Kendrick, Hess & 

Largen, on brief), for appellee. 

 Clinton's Repair Service, Inc. and its insurer (hereinafter 

collectively referred to as "employer") contend that the Workers' 

Compensation Commission erred in finding that Terry William 

Lester proved he sustained an injury by accident arising out of 

and in the course of his employment on March 12, 1996. Upon 

reviewing the record and the briefs of the parties, we conclude 

that this appeal is without merit. Accordingly, we summarily 

affirm the commission's decision. Rule 5A:27. 

 In rendering its decision, the commission found as follows: 

 [Lester] credibly testified in detail that he 

felt an initial "tug" in his right groin 

while climbing onto a bulldozer after 

lunchtime. Both the hearing and deposition 

testimony reveal that after the bulldozer was 

fixed, [Lester] experienced increasing, 

though not constant, pain, requiring [Lester] 

 *Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not 

designated for publication. 
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to exit the truck at Shorts Gap, and finally 

present to the emergency room after returning 

home. The recorded statement similarly 

documents this increasing pain beginning 

after fixing a dozer, and [Lester] has 

explained that he did not relate the initial 

"tug" because he was focused on the 

development of severe pain later on. 

 Significantly, at the hospital on the 

evening of March 12, 1996, Dr. Chavez 

reported a history of sudden pain while 

climbing up a dozer, which corroborates 

[Lester's] testimony. Dr. Chavez's reports 

also establish the requisite causal 

connection between the work incident and the 

diagnosis of testicular torsion requiring 

emergency surgery. The more general history 

reported by Dr. Patel consistently documents 

a sudden pain at work which also supports a 

finding of sudden injury. 

 "In order to carry [the] burden of proving an 'injury by 

accident,' a claimant must prove that the cause of [the] injury 

was an identifiable incident or sudden precipitating event and 

that it resulted in an obvious sudden mechanical or structural 

change in the body." Morris v. Morris, 238 Va. 578, 589, 385 

S.E.2d 858, 865 (1989). "In determining whether credible 

evidence exists, the appellate court does not retry the facts, 

reweigh the preponderance of the evidence, or make its own 

determination of the credibility of the witnesses." Wagner 

Enters., Inc. v. Brooks, 12 Va. App. 890, 894, 407 S.E.2d 32, 35 

(1991). "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." Id.

 In rendering its decision, the commission considered the 
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various medical histories, Lester's statements to his employer, 

and Lester's recorded statement. The commission resolved any 

inconsistencies in this evidence in favor of Lester. Lester's 

testimony, which is corroborated by contemporaneous medical 

reports, provides credible evidence to support the commission's 

finding that he proved an identifiable incident. Lester's 

testimony and the medical evidence proved that the incident 

caused a sudden mechanical change in his body. The commission so 

found. Thus, those findings are conclusive on this appeal. See

James v. Capitol Steel Constr. Co., 8 Va. App. 512, 515, 382 

S.E.2d 487, 488 (1989). Those findings are sufficient to prove 

injury by accident arising out of employment. 

 For the reasons stated, we affirm the commission's decision. 

 Affirmed.