STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

FILED HUNTINGTON ALLOYS CORPORATION, January 25, 2018 

Employer Below, Petitioner EDYTHE NASH GAISER, CLERK 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

OF WEST VIRGINIA 

vs.) No. 17-0027 (BOR Appeal No. 2051514) 

(Claim No. 2014033757) 

PATRICK WHEELER, 

Claimant Below, Respondent 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Petitioner Huntington Alloys Corporation, by Steven K. Wellman, its attorney, appeals 

the decision of the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. Patrick Wheeler, by 

Cathy L. Greiner, his attorney, filed a timely response. 

The issue on appeal is whether lumbar disc herniation/displacement and cervical disc 

herniation/displacement should be added as a compensable injury and whether the claim should 

be reopened for temporary total disability benefits. The claims administrator denied a request to 

reopen the claim for temporary total disability benefits on June 18, 2015. The claims 

administrator denied a request for the addition of lumbar disc herniation/displacement and 

cervical disc herniation/displacement as compensable conditions on July 24, 2015. The Office of 

Judges reversed both of the claims administrator’s decisions, approved both the lumbar disc 

herniation/displacement and cervical disc herniation/displacement as compensable conditions, 

and approved the requested temporary total disability benefits on August 19, 2016. The Board of 

Review affirmed the Order of the Office of Judges on December 16, 2016. 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. For these reasons, a memorandum 

decision is appropriate under Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. 

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Mr. Wheeler, a steel worker at Huntington Alloys Corporation, injured his neck and back 

while attempting to lift a panel at work on May 18, 2014. The following day, Allen Young, M.D., 

treated Mr. Wheeler, who reported that he was injured when he caught a falling breaker panel 

door, which jerked his neck and lower back. Dr. Young diagnosed sprains of the lumbar spine 

and cervical spine. Dr. Young also noted Mr. Wheeler’s prior history of upper and lower back 

problems, which started in 2005 with a lumbar sprain. 

On November 2, 2006, a lumbar spine MRI revealed that the spinal canal appeared 

congenitally narrow at all levels. The narrowing was significantly exacerbated at L3-4 and L4-5, 

secondary to diffuse disc bulge and facet degenerative changes, which resulted in central canal 

narrowing as well as bilateral foraminal narrowing most severe at L4-5. In 2009, Mr. Wheeler 

was treated for numbness in his left arm. In a November 26, 2012, report, Allan Koester, M.D., 

stated that he treated Mr. Wheeler who reported a four-year history of his right arm giving out as 

well as numbness. Cervical spine x-rays demonstrated some diffuse osteoarthritic changes in the 

lower cervical spine. On February 7, 2013, a cervical MRI revealed multilevel degenerative disc 

disease with severe canal stenosis and a disc herniation at C3-4. Mr. Wheeler was referred to 

Panos Ignatiadis, M.D., a neurosurgeon. Dr. Ignatiadis noted that the MRI showed multiple 

degenerative changes, specifically at C3-4, C5-6, and to a lesser extent at C6-7. He diagnosed 

cervical radiculopathy at C5-7 on the right, carpal tunnel on the right, and left L4 radiculopathy. 

On May 11, 2013, Mr. Wheeler underwent a lumbar MRI that showed a broad-based disc 

bulge with facet degenerative changes at L3-4 and L4-5, causing moderate central canal 

narrowing and foraminal narrowing. On May 15, 2015, Mr. Wheeler underwent nerve 

conduction studies by Carl McComas, M.D., which revealed evidence of denervation, 

reinnervation, and dropout of motor unit potentials in the right triceps and extensor carpi ulnaris 

muscles. Dr. McComas stated that the study was consistent with borderline right ulnar 

neuropathy and a moderate chronic right C7 radiculopathy. David Caraway, M.D., a pain 

specialist, recommended cervical epidural steroid injections on July 30, 2013. 

After the compensable injury on May 28, 2014, Mr. Wheeler underwent a lumbar MRI, 

which showed degenerative changes superimposed on congenital spinal stenosis, resulting in 

moderate spinal canal and lateral recess stenosis from L2-5. Rodger Blake, M.D., the examiner, 

commented that when compared to the previous study, there was a right posterior lateral small 

disc protrusion just prior to the entry of the lateral recess at T12-L1. On September 30, 2014, the 

claims administrator held the claim compensable for lumbar sprain, thoracic sprain, and neck 

sprain. 

Prasadarao Mukkamala, M.D., performed an independent medical evaluation of Mr. 

Wheeler on January 20, 2015. Dr. Mukkamala found that Mr. Wheeler had reached maximum 

medical improvement and required no further treatment other than a home exercise program. He 

commented that Mr. Wheeler demonstrated a significant degree of symptom magnification. He 

further stated there was no indication for a neurosurgical consultation, any further investigation, 

or a pain management referral. At the time of his examination, Mr. Wheeler complained of pain 

and stiffness in his low back, his left leg giving out, pain in both hips, and numbness in both 

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arms. Dr. Mukkamala opined that Mr. Wheeler suffered from 11% whole person impairment 

attributable to the compensable injury. 

An April 4, 2015, cervical MRI revealed significant multilevel degenerative changes and 

disc disease, causing moderate to severe central canal stenosis and cord compression. On May 

13, 2015, Mr. Wheeler was evaluated by Dr. Ignatiadis who diagnosed severe myelopathy due to 

cord compression from a disc herniation at C2-4, which had been dormant and was aroused by 

the compensable injury of May 18, 2014. Dr. Ignatiadis noted that he had previously seen Mr. 

Wheeler in April of 2013 for neck pain and at that time, he had no evidence of myelopathy. On 

May 21, 2015, Mr. Wheeler underwent an anterior discectomy and fusion at C3-4 for severe disc 

herniation, cord compression, stenosis, and myelopathy. 

One week after surgery, Dr. Young saw Mr. Wheeler for a follow-up. Dr. Young stated 

that based upon the report from Dr. Ignatiadis, he would send the information to the claims 

administrator to see if the claim could be reopened for temporary total disability benefits. Dr. 

Young completed an application for temporary total disability benefits suggesting Mr. Wheeler 

should receive them from May 18, 2014, through September 11, 2015. On June 18, 2015, the 

claims administrator denied the request to reopen the claim for temporary total disability 

benefits. On June 30, 2015, Dr. Young completed a diagnosis update requesting the addition of 

lumbar disc herniation/displacement and cervical disc herniation/displacement to the claim. The 

claims administrator denied this request on July 24, 2015. 

Marsha Bailey, M.D., performed an independent medical evaluation of Mr. Wheeler on 

May 5, 2016. Dr. Bailey opined that Mr. Wheeler suffered from chronic whole spine pain with 

all four extremity complaints of pain and paresthesia. She stated that Mr. Wheeler’s subjective 

complaints far outweighed his physical findings. She observed that his complaints of bilateral 

whole arm and bilateral whole leg symptoms were not anatomic and were nondermatomal. She 

performed a range of motion study which she described as pain-restricted. Dr. Bailey opined that 

Mr. Wheeler had sustained simple sprains and strains of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine 

as a result of the compensable injury and that his present complaints pre-existed the compensable 

injury. Dr. Bailey believed that Mr. Wheeler had reached maximum medical improvement. She 

opined that any surgical intervention was solely a result of the progression of his degenerative 

disc disease, degenerative joint disease, and disc osteophyte complexes. She stated that Mr. 

Wheeler’s need for surgery would have occurred in the absence of his compensable injury. 

On June 19, 2016, the Office of Judges determined that the claim was compensable for 

lumbar disc herniation/displacement and cervical disc herniation/displacement. Because the 

request for temporary total disability benefits arose from the now compensable conditions and 

cervical spine surgery, the Office of Judges determined that temporary total disability benefits 

should be granted as well. The Office of Judges determined that the most reliable and credible 

reports of record were the reports of Dr. Ignatiadis, a neurosurgeon, and Dr. Blake, who 

identified a new pathology after the compensable injury on May 28, 2014. Dr. Ignatiadis stated 

that the compensable jerking injury aroused the dormant, pre-existing condition, inducing 

myelopathy. The Office of Judges did not consider Dr. Mukkamala’s report because he did not 

render an opinion as to whether the lumbar and cervical disc herniations/displacements were 

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compensable conditions. The Office of Judges determined that Dr. Ignatiadis was in a better 

position to render a diagnosis on this issue because neurosurgery is his specialty and he 

performed surgery on Mr. Wheeler. Further, his report was supported by the findings of Dr. 

Blake. The Board of Review adopted the findings of the Office of Judges and affirmed its Order 

on December 16, 2016. 

After review, we agree with the reasoning and conclusions of the Office of Judges as 

affirmed by the Board of Review. The Office of Judges, as the finder of fact, found that Dr. 

Ignatiadis’s diagnoses were more persuasive and further supported by the evidence than the other 

opinions of record. Dr. Ignatiadis stated, in reference to the cervical spine, that the compensable 

jerking injury aroused Mr. Wheeler’s dormant pre-existing condition inducing myelopathy. Dr. 

Ignatiadis noted that he had previously treated Mr. Wheeler in April of 2013 for neck pain, and 

at that time, there was no evidence of myelopathy. In regard to the lumbar spine, studies taken 

prior to the compensable injury showed a disc bulge and degenerative changes at L3-4 and L4-5. 

An MRI taken after the compensable injury occurred revealed a right posterior lateral small disc 

protrusion just prior to the entry of the lateral recess at T12-L1. Dr. Blake, the examiner, stated 

that this was new when compared to the previous, preinjury MRI. Mr. Wheeler clearly suffered a 

new lumbar spine injury. The payment of temporary total disability benefits was therefore 

proper. 

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: January 25, 2018 

CONCURRED IN BY: 

Chief Justice Allen H. Loughry II 

Justice Robin J. Davis 

Justice Margaret L. Workman 

Justice Menis E. Ketchum 

Justice Elizabeth D. Walker 

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