STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS FILED 

RONALD E. WILLIAMS, August 2, 2017 

RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK 

Claimant Below, Petitioner SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

OF WEST VIRGINIA 

vs.) No. 16-1073 (BOR Appeal No. 2051302) 

(Claim No. 2013019732) 

PERFORMANCE COAL COMPANY, 

Employer Below, Respondent 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Petitioner Ronald E. Williams, by Rodney A. Skeens and Reginald D. Henry, his 

attorneys, appeal the decision of the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. 

Performance Coal Company, by Sean Harter, its attorney, filed a timely response. 

The issue presented in the instant appeal is the amount of permanent partial disability 

impairment for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. On February 9, 2015, the claims administrator 

granted a 0% permanent partial disability award. The Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges 

reversed the claims administrator’s Order in a decision dated April 19, 2016, and granted Mr. 

Williams a 12% permanent partial disability award. This appeal arises from the Board of 

Review’s Final Order dated October 11, 2016, in which the Board reversed the decision of the 

Office of Judges, and granted Mr. Williams a 2% permanent partial disability award for bilateral 

carpal tunnel syndrome. 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. 

On December 11, 2012, Mr. Williams filed a report of injury alleging that he had 

sustained bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome as a result of his work-related activities as an 

electrician and miner. Syed Zahir, M.D., signed the physician’s portion of the application and 

indicated that Mr. Williams’s diagnosis of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome was work-related. 

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The claims administrator denied the application by Order dated April 9, 2013, and found the 

condition not to be causally related to his employment. Mr. Williams timely protested the claims 

administrator’s Order. 

Mr. Williams introduced into the record an independent medical examination by Bruce 

Guberman, M.D., dated June 5, 2013. Dr. Guberman concluded that Mr. Williams suffered from 

bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome as a result of using his hands repeatedly at work. Although Dr. 

Guberman conceded that Mr. Williams had a predisposing factor of obesity, Dr. Guberman was 

of the opinion that Mr. Williams would not have developed carpal tunnel syndrome but for his 

work exposure. By final decision dated November 25, 2013, the Office of Judges reversed the 

rejection of the claim by the claims administrator and held the claim compensable for the 

diagnosis of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Mr. Williams underwent carpal tunnel release surgery performed by Philip J. Branson, 

M.D., at Princeton Community Hospital. Following the successful surgery, Marsha Bailey, 

M.D., evaluated Mr. Williams and completed an independent medical evaluation on January 26, 

2015. In her report, Dr. Bailey concluded that Mr. Williams had reached his maximum degree of 

medical improvement with no impairment attributable to occupationally related bilateral carpal 

tunnel syndrome. She found that Mr. Williams had a full range of motion in both wrists. Because 

of his heavily callused hands and grease stains, Dr. Bailey believed that Mr. Williams was still 

performing manual hand activities on a regular basis. She rated Mr. Williams at 4% upper 

extremity whole person impairment. However, based upon the history that his symptoms have 

not only persisted but worsened after his occupational exposure at Performance Coal Company, 

she apportioned the entire 4% impairment to non-occupational risk factors. Dr. Bailey’s final 

recommendation was for a 0% whole person impairment rating for bilateral carpal tunnel 

syndrome. Based upon Dr. Bailey’s recommendation, the claims administrator granted a 0% 

award by Order dated February 9, 2015. Mr. Williams filed a timely protest. 

In another independent medical evaluaton report dated April 7, 2015, Dr. Guberman 

reported that surgery had improved the claimant’s symptoms. Using the American Medical 

Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, (4th Ed. 1993) Dr. Guberman 

concluded Mr. Williams had 13% whole person impairment for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Dr. Guberman attributed 7% whole person impairment to the claimant’s right wrist and a total of 

6% impairment to the left wrist. 

Robert Walker, M.D., evaluated Mr. Williams and issued an independent medical 

evaluation report dated July 30, 2015. Dr. Walker found 7% whole person impairment for the 

right median nerve component of the injury and 7% for the left upper extremity. Dr. Walker 

combined the impairments for his right and left upper extremities and concluded that Mr. 

Williams has 14% whole person impairment due to his bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. 

The employer introduced an independent medical evaluation by Prasadarao Mukkamala, 

M.D., dated September 25, 2015. Dr. Mukkamala apportioned 1% impairment per extremity for 

non-compensable factors, such as obesity. Dr. Mukkamala combined the 1% impairment per 

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extremity and concluded that 2% whole person impairment resulted from his carpal tunnel 

syndrome. 

By decision dated April 19, 2016, the Office of Judges reversed the claims 

administrator’s order dated February 9, 2015, which had granted Mr. Williams a 0% permanent 

partial disability award. The Office of Judges granted Mr. Williams a 12% award for bilateral 

carpal tunnel syndrome. In its reasoning, the Office of Judges dismissed the evaluations of Drs. 

Bailey and Mukkamala based upon an insufficient evaluation of his activities of daily living and 

the interference thereof as contemplated by Table 11, Page 48 of the American Medical 

Association, Guides. 

The Office of Judges deemed the reports of Drs. Walker and Guberman to be the most 

credible medical evidence of record. However, because Drs. Guberman and Walker did not 

reduce their recommendations of whole person impairment, the ALJ reasoned that it had two 

options. It could affirm the claims administrator based upon either a finding that Mr. Williams 

had failed to introduce into the record credible medical evidence in support of his protest or find 

reports which the Office of Judges has already noted to be insufficiently documented to back 

their conclusions. It could also simply reduce the recommendation of impairment suggested by 

the evidence of record submitted by Mr. Williams, which is otherwise found to be credible in its 

methodology and adherence to the protocols of the American Medical Association’s, Guides to 

conform with West Virginia Code of State Rules § 85-20-65.5 (2006). The Office of Judges 

opted to make a slight adjustment to the impairment ratings submitted by Drs. Walker and 

Guberman. After the ALJ adjusted the impairment recommendation to conform with West 

Virginia Code of State Rules § 85-20-65.5, Mr. Williams was awarded 6% whole person 

impairment per upper extremity for a total of 12%. 

The Board of Review reversed the decision of the Office of Judges by Final Order dated 

October 11, 2016, and granted Mr. Williams a 2% permanent partial disability award based upon 

Dr. Mukkamala’s 2% whole-person impairment rating. The Board of Review ruled that the 

decision of the Office of Judges was clearly wrong in view of the reliable, probative and 

substantial evidence of the record. The Board of Review took issue with the granting of a 12% 

permanent partial disability award, which was not recommended by any of the evaluators. 

Instead of relying upon an impairment rating from a physician, the ALJ adjusted the ratings from 

Drs. Walker and Guberman to conform with West Virginia Code of State Rules § 85-20-65.5 

(2006). The Board of Review relied upon this Court’s language in Repass v. Workers’ 

Compensation Division, 212 W. Va. 86, 569 S.E.2d 162 (2002), to conclude that permanent 

partial disability awards are solely to be issued on the basis of impairment ratings from doctors. 

The Board of Review discussed that subsequent memorandum decisions have elaborated on this 

issue, including Magnatech Industrial Services v. York, No. 14-0386 (W. Va. Supreme Court, 

Jan. 15, 2015) (memorandum decision), in which the Court reversed an Order that was based 

upon the same type of reduction to conform to West Virginia Code of State Rules § 85-20-65.5. 

The Board ultimately found the report from Dr. Mukkamala to be the most relevant and credible 

report, as it conformed with the American Medical Association’s, Guides and West Virginia 

Code of State Rules § 85-20-65.5. Mr. Williams was granted a 2% permanent partial disability 

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award for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome by the Board of Review. We agree with the 

reasoning and conclusions of the Board of Review. 

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: August 2, 2017 

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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