COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Chief Judge Fitzpatrick, Judge Bumgardner and 

 Senior Judge Hodges 

THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY AND 

 TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY OF ILLINOIS 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION*

v. Record No. 2092-00-3 PER CURIAM 

 DECEMBER 28, 2000 

DIANE N. NEWCOMB 

 FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION 

 (James A. L. Daniel; Martha White Medley; 

Daniel, Vaughan, Medley & Smitherman, P.C., 

on brief), for appellants. 

 (Stephen G. Bass; Carter, Craig, Bass, 

Blair & Kushner, P.C., on brief), for 

appellee. 

 

* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not 

designated for publication. 

 The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and its insurer 

(hereinafter referred to as "employer") contend that the 

Workers' Compensation Commission erred in finding that Diane N. 

Newcomb (claimant) proved that the deQuervain's disease in her 

right wrist and the epicondylitis in her right elbow and 

disability related thereto were causally related to her November 

2, 1992 compensable left arm injury. 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. See Rule 5A:27. 
 On appeal, we view the evidence in the light most favorable 

to the prevailing party below. See R.G. Moore Bldg. Corp. v. 

Mullins, 10 Va. App. 211, 212, 390 S.E.2d 788, 788 (1990). "The 

actual determination of causation is a factual finding that will 

not be disturbed on appeal if there is credible evidence to 

support the finding." Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. Musick, 7 Va. App. 

684, 688, 376 S.E.2d 814, 817 (1989). "Questions raised by 

conflicting medical opinions must be decided by the commission." 

Penley v. Island Creek Coal Co., 8 Va. App. 310, 318, 381 S.E.2d 

231, 236 (1989). 

 In ruling that claimant sustained her burden of proving a 

compensable change-in-condition, the commission found as follows: 

[T]he claimant has established that she 

developed right deQuervain's syndrome and 

epicondylitis as a result of overuse of [her 

right] extremity necessitated by the November 

2, 1992, injury to her left arm. . . . [W]e 

note the consistent medical reports of Dr. 

[Anthony] DeFranzo causally relating the 

right arm condition to this accident. We 

have reviewed all medical reports in the 

record . . . . We can find nothing in these 

reports to indicate that the claimant's 

problem is the result of a condition other 

than that diagnosed by Dr. DeFranzo. We note 

that a 1993 a [sic] nerve conduction study 

specifically ruled out carpal tunnel 

syndrome. Any finding that the claimant had 

osteoarthritis appeared to be incidental to 

other treatment she received. We also note 

there was never any definitive diagnosis of 

this condition, only a suspicion. We are 

cognizant of the report of Dr. [Stephen] 

Leibovic, who has found the claimant does not 

have deQuervain's disease, but had CMC 

synovitis and multiple inflammatory 

complaints known as diffuse synovitis or 

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fibromyalgia. We find, after considering all 

medical reports, that Dr. DeFranzo is in the 

best position to determine the nature of 

claimant's condition. He has treated her for 

more than seven years, and has had the 

opportunity to observe her on a regular 

basis. In his deposition, he was positive in 

his diagnosis of deQuervain's syndrome, 

noting that perhaps at the time she was 

evaluated by Dr. Leibovic it was after she 

had received treatment by injection and her 

symptoms were not as acute. 

 "Medical evidence is not necessarily conclusive, but is 

subject to the commission's consideration and weighing." 

Hungerford Mechanical Corp. v. Hobson, 11 Va. App. 675, 677, 401 

S.E.2d 213, 215 (1991). In its role as fact finder, the 

commission was entitled to weigh the medical evidence, to accept 

Dr. DeFranzo's opinions, and to reject Dr. Leibovic's opinions. 

Dr. DeFranzo's medical records and opinions, coupled with 

claimant's testimony, constitute credible evidence to support the 

commission's decision. During his deposition, Dr. DeFranzo did 

not indicate that any of his opinions regarding the causation of 

claimant's right arm problems would change as a result of 

receiving information from employer's counsel regarding claimant's 

medical records and past medical treatment. "'[W]hen an attending 

physician is positive in his diagnosis . . . , great weight will 

be given by the courts to his opinion.'" Pilot Freight Carriers, 

Inc. v. Reeves, 1 Va. App. 435, 439, 339 S.E.2d 570, 572 (1986) 

(citations omitted). "The fact that there is contrary evidence in 

the record is of no consequence if there is credible evidence to 

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support the commission's finding." Wagner Enters., Inc. v. 

Brooks, 12 Va. App. 890, 894, 407 S.E.2d 32, 35 (1991). 

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

Affirmed.

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