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 STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

CASEY COLLEY,

Claimant Below, Petitioner

vs.) No. 20-0101 (BOR Appeal No. 2054732)

(Claim No. 2018014363)

 

HAMPDEN COAL, LLC, 

Employer Below, Respondent

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Petitioner Casey Colley, a self-represented litigant, appeals the decision of the West 

Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review (“Board of Review”). Hampden Coal, LLC, 

by counsel Sean Harter, filed a timely response.

The issue on appeal is medical treatment. The claims administrator denied a request for 

referrals to two orthopedic surgeons for the left shoulder and lumbar spine on April 10, 2019. The 

Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges (“Office of Judges”) affirmed the claims administrator’s 

order on October 8, 2019. This appeal arises from the Board of Review’s Order dated January 16, 

2020, in which the Board of Review affirmed the decision of the Office of Judges.

The Court has carefully reviewed the records, written arguments, and appendices contained 

in the briefs, and the case is mature for consideration. 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. 

The standard of review applicable to this Court’s consideration of workers’ compensation 

appeals has been set out under W. Va. Code § 23-5-15 (2005) (Repl. Vol. 2010), in relevant part, 

as follows:

(b) In reviewing a decision of the board of review, the supreme court of appeals 

shall consider the record provided by the board and give deference to the board’s 

findings, reasoning and conclusions[.]

FILED

May 20, 2021

EDYTHE NASH GAISER, CLERK

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

OF WEST VIRGINIA
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(c) If the decision of the board represents an affirmation of a prior ruling by both 

the commission and the office of judges that was entered on the same issue in the 

same claim, the decision of the board may be reversed or modified by the Supreme 

Court of Appeals only if the decision is in clear violation of Constitutional or 

statutory provision, is clearly the result of erroneous conclusions of law, or is based 

upon the board’s material misstatement or mischaracterization of particular 

components of the evidentiary record. The court may not conduct a de novo reweighing of the evidentiary record. . . .

See Hammons v. West Virginia Office of Ins. Commissioner, 235 W. Va. 577, ___, 775 S.E.2d 458, 

463-64 (2015). As we previously recognized in Justice v. West Virginia Office Insurance 

Commission, 230 W. Va. 80, 83, 736 S.E.2d 80, 83 (2012), we apply a de novo standard of review 

to questions of law arising in the context of decisions issued by the Board. See also Davies v. West 

Virginia Office of Insurance Commissioner, 227 W. Va. 330, 334, 708 S.E.2d 524, 528 (2011). 

With these standards in mind, we proceed to determine whether the Board of Review committed 

error in affirming the decision of the Office of Judges.

Mr. Colley, a coal miner, has a long history of lower back and left shoulder problems. On 

December 3, 2009, a lumbar x-ray was performed for complaints of back pain with radiculopathy; 

however, there was no history of an injury. The results showed degenerative changes and mild loss 

of disc height at T12 and L1. A left shoulder x-ray was performed for left shoulder pain with no 

trauma on March 31, 2010. The results showed degenerative joint disease of the acromioclavicular 

joint. On April 19, 2010, a left shoulder MRI was performed for left shoulder pain. The MRI 

revealed bursitis, moderate peritendinopathy with no evidence of a full thickness tear, and cystic 

changes. 

An April 15, 2015, treatment note from Dickenson Medical Associates indicates Mr. 

Colley reported bilateral shoulder pain for several years. He also reported increased pain in his left 

shoulder. He was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis and a possible rotator cuff tear. A left 

shoulder MRI was performed on April 22, 2015, which showed edema and small cysts, consistent 

with a chronic injury, and a suspected chronic labral tear. Mr. Colley returned to Dickenson 

Medical Associates on April 29, 2015, and was diagnosed with left shoulder rotator cuff tendinitis. 

A lumbar x-ray showed mild degenerative changes on October 18, 2016. On October 13, 2017, a 

treatment note from Pikeville Medical Center indicated Mr. Colley reported left shoulder pain that 

started six months prior. He was diagnosed with bursitis. It was noted that a 2015 MRI showed 

degenerative changes with a possible labral tear. Mr. Colley returned to Dickenson Medical 

Associates on October 31, 2017, for a checkup. It was noted that he was to be referred to 

orthopedics for shoulder pain.

Mr. Colley injured his left shoulder and lower back on December 15, 2017, when he slipped 

and fell while working for Hampden Coal, LLC. December 18, 2017, treatment notes from 

Dickenson Medical Associates indicate he was seen for a follow-up from an emergency room visit. 

Mr. Colley reported that he fell at work the previous Friday and struck his back and left shoulder. 

He was treated in the emergency room where x-rays showed no fractures. Mr. Colley reported low 

back pain, bilateral hip pain, radiculopathy, and left shoulder/upper arm pain. The assessment was 
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shoulder pain and lumbar radiculopathy. On January 2, 2018, Mr. Colley returned with worsening 

symptoms and was taken off of work. He underwent a left shoulder MRI which showed a partial 

thickness tear of the supraspinatus tendon, two small cysts, and degenerative changes on January 

18, 2018. A lumbar MRI showed mild degenerative disc disease. On February 2, 2018, Mr. Colley

was referred to orthopedics and neurosurgery. He returned on March 12, 2018, with worsening 

shoulder and back pain. The assessment was hand/finger pain, lumbar radiculopathy, and high 

blood pressure. Mr. Colley reported left shoulder pain and back pain radiating into his legs on 

March 28, 2018. He stated that he had experienced back pain in the past but no radiation into the 

legs until his fall at work. 

Prasadarao Mukkamala, M.D., performed an independent medical evaluation for the injury 

at issue on March 6, 2018. Dr. Mukkamala noted that Mr. Colley denied any prior back pain. Dr. 

Mukkamala opined that his complaints of left shoulder and lower back pain were the result of 

preexisting lumbar spondylosis and rotator cuff tendinosis and arthrosis. Dr. Mukkamala stated 

that the conditions were not related to the work injury. Dr. Mukkamala found no credible objective 

medical evidence that Mr. Colley was injured on December 15, 2017. He stated that the mechanism 

of injury was suggestive of a sprain or contusion to the low back and left shoulder but that the 

conditions would have resolved within four weeks.

In a letter dated April 6, 2018, Roy Deel, D.O., stated that he had been treating Mr. Colley’s 

back pain since 2013, but until after his fall, he had not complained of pain going down his legs. 

Treatment notes from April 6, 2018, to April 3, 2019, were submitted into the record from Dr. 

Deel. In addressing Mr. Colley’s left shoulder pain, Dr. Deel stated that he had some pain in the 

past, but not to the extent that he is having now. Dr. Deel reported that he had obtained MRIs and 

was waiting for Mr. Colley to be seen by the orthopedic and neurosurgery team before he would 

allow him to return to work. On April 13, 2019, two orthopedic surgery referrals were submitted 

by Dr. Deel for left shoulder pain, low back pain, and lumbar radiculopathy. The claims 

administrator denied Mr. Colley’s request for referrals to two orthopedic surgeons for left shoulder 

pain, low back pain, and lumbar radiculopathy on April 10, 2019. Mr. Colley protested the claims 

administrator’s Order.

By Order of the Office of Judges dated October 8, 2019, the claims administrator’s 

decision, which denied the April 13, 2019, requests for authorization of referrals to two orthopedic 

surgeons for Mr. Colley’s left shoulder and lumbar spine, was affirmed. The Office of Judges 

found that the preponderance of the evidence of record established that the claims administrator 

correctly denied the requests for referrals because they were not medically related and reasonably 

necessary for the treatment of Mr. Colley’s compensable injury. By Order dated January 16, 2020, 

the Board of Review adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Office of Judges 

and affirmed the October 8, 2019, decision.

After review, we agree with the decision of the Office of Judges, as affirmed by the Board 

of Review. To be authorized, medical care and treatment must not only be “reasonably required,” 

but also related to the compensable injury, pursuant to West Virginia Code § 23-4-3(a)(1). The 

record clearly documents Mr. Colley’s preexisting left shoulder and low back conditions dating 

back to 2009. Dr. Mukkamala, in his report dated March 6, 2018, opined that Mr. Colley’s
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complaints of left shoulder and lower back pain were the result of preexisting lumbar spondylosis 

and rotator cuff tendinosis and arthrosis. Dr. Mukkamala went on to state that the conditions were 

not related to the work injury. The Office of Judges and Board of Review did not err in denying 

Dr. Deel’s requests for Mr. Colley to be referred to an orthopedic surgeon, as the referrals are not 

reasonably required medical care to treat the compensable injury of December 15, 2017. Therefore, 

the decision of the Board of Review is affirmed.

 Affirmed.

ISSUED: May 20, 2021

CONCURRED IN BY:

Chief Justice Evan H. Jenkins

Justice Elizabeth D. Walker 

Justice Tim Armstead 

Justice John A. Hutchison

Justice William R. Wooton