COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Baker, Elder and Bumgardner 

B & N CONTRACTORS, INC. AND GENERAL 

 ACCIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION*

v. Record No. 0575-98-1 PER CURIAM 

 JULY 21, 1998 

VEARLYN WHEELER 

FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION 

 (Bradford C. Jacob; Taylor & Walker, P.C., on 

brief), for appellants. 

 (Byron A. Adams, on brief), for appellee. 

 B & N Contractors, Inc. and its insurer (hereinafter 

referred to as employer) contend that the Workers' Compensation 

Commission (commission) erred in reversing the deputy 

commissioner's credibility determination and finding that Vearlyn 

Wheeler (claimant) proved that she sustained an injury by 

accident arising out of and in the course of her employment on 

December 2, 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. 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). "In 

order to carry [her] burden of proving an 'injury by accident,' a 

 

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

designated for publication. 
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claimant must prove that the cause of [her] 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). 

 The deputy commissioner found that claimant did not prove 

she sustained an injury by accident arising out of and in the 

course of her employment on December 2, 1996. In so ruling, the 

deputy commissioner found that claimant's testimony was not 

credible. The deputy commissioner noted that "claimant testified 

in a stilted manner without eye contact" and that she 

"exaggerated her injuries, in particular, asserting that even as 

of the hearing she was suffering from dizziness and blurred 

vision . . . ." 

 The full commission reversed the deputy commissioner's 

credibility determination. The full commission based its 

decision on the fact that "the medical records corroborate 

[claimant's] testimony that she was struck in the head by an 

arrow sign when a beam was thrown on the ground." 

 Employer contends that the full commission disregarded the 

deputy commissioner's credibility determination without a 

sufficient basis to do so. However, 

 [t]he principle set forth in [Goodyear Tire & 

Rubber Co. v.] Pierce[, 5 Va. App. 374, 383, 

363 S.E.2d 433, 438 (1987),] does not make 

the deputy commissioner's credibility 

findings unreviewable by the commission. 

Rather, it merely requires the commission to 

articulate its reasons for reversing a 
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specific credibility determination of the 

deputy commissioner when that determination 

is based upon a recorded observation of the 

demeanor or appearance of a witness. In 

short, the rule in Pierce prevents the 

commission from arbitrarily disregarding an 

explicit credibility finding of the deputy 

commissioner. 

Bullion Hollow Enters., Inc. v. Lane, 14 Va. App. 725, 729, 418 

S.E.2d 904, 907 (1992). 

 Here, the commission articulated specific reasons for 

disagreeing with the deputy commissioner's credibility 

determination. Contrary to employer's assertion, the commission 

properly considered the histories contained in the medical 

records to corroborate claimant's testimony regarding the 

accident. See Pence Nissan Oldsmobile v. Oliver, 20 Va. App. 

314, 319, 456 S.E.2d 541, 544 (1995). 

 Moreover, when the commission's findings are supported by 

credible evidence, as in this case, those findings are conclusive 

and binding on appeal. See Ross Lab. v. Barbour, 13 Va. App. 

373, 377-78, 412 S.E.2d 205, 208 (1991). Claimant testified that 

on December 2, 1996, she took a break after helping to unload 

beams from a truck and stood beside an arrow board sign, which 

was on a stand with two wheels. Claimant stated that an employee 

was throwing beams on the ground, and she was told that one of 

the beams bounced up and hit the stand. As she stood under the 

sign, it started to roll. Claimant thought that she had moved 

out of the sign's path, but an iron part of the sign hit her 

head. 
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 Claimant reported the incident to her supervisor and sought 

medical treatment that day. The medical records contain a 

history of the accident consistent with claimant's testimony. In 

addition, claimant's neighbor, Theresa D. McKenney, testified 

that on December 2, 1996 between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., claimant 

came to her house and was "incoherent." Claimant reported the 

accident to McKenney. McKenney testified that claimant was dizzy 

and could not see very well. McKenney accompanied claimant in a 

taxicab to the hospital emergency room. 

 Based upon claimant's testimony, which was corroborated by 

McKenney's testimony and the medical records, we find that 

credible evidence supports the commission's decision that 

claimant sustained an injury by accident arising out of and in 

the course of her employment on December 2, 1996. "Although 

contrary evidence may exist in the record, findings of fact made 

by the commission will be upheld on appeal when supported by 

credible evidence." Bullion, 14 Va. App. at 730, 418 S.E.2d at 

907. 

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

 Affirmed.