NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. 

UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL 

AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.

IN THE 

ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS

DIVISION ONE

MARYLOU MCGEE, Petitioner,

v.

THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF ARIZONA, Respondent, 

IHOP, Respondent Employer,

NORTHERN INSURANCE CO. OF NY, Respondent Carrier.

No. 1 CA-IC 15-0022 

Special Action - Industrial Commission 

ICA Claim No. 20132-610681 

Carrier Claim No. 2010234688 

The Honorable Robert F. Retzer, Administrative Law Judge 

AFFIRMED 

COUNSEL 

Marylou McGee, Flagstaff 

Petitioner 

Industrial Commission of Arizona, Phoenix 

By Andrew F. Wade 

Counsel for Respondent 

Lester Norton & Brozina PC, Phoenix 

By Christopher S. Norton, Steven C. Lester, Rachel Parise Brozina 

Counsel for Respondent Employer and Carrier
MCGEE v. IHOP/NORTHERN 

Decision of the Court 

2

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Judge Kenton D. Jones delivered the decision of the Court, in which 

Presiding Judge Diane M. Johnsen and Judge Patricia A. Orozco joined. 

J O N E S, Judge: 

¶1 Marylou McGee seeks special action review of an Industrial 

Commission of Arizona (the Commission) decision upon review, in which 

the administrative law judge (ALJ) awarded McGee workers’ compensation 

benefits for a claimed injury to her left wrist, but found her claims for 

injuries to her right wrist, neck, and lumbar area non-compensable. For the 

following reasons, we affirm. 

FACTS1 AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 

¶2 McGee began waitressing at an IHOP restaurant in 2011. In 

February 2013, she began experiencing shooting pain in her left wrist and 

purchased a wrist brace for support. In September 2013, while she was 

carrying a tray full of drinks in one hand and three coffee pots in the other, 

a small child ran toward her. McGee twisted her body sharply to avoid the 

child and dropped the drinks and the coffee pots. She returned to the 

kitchen to retrieve new drinks and coffee pots but found she could no 

longer pick anything up with her left hand. She told her supervisor about 

the accident and went to the emergency room, complaining of pain in her 

left wrist.

¶3 Hospital staff performed blood work and took x-rays of 

McGee’s wrist. McGee was told she might have sprained her wrist and that 

she should tend to it with ice and see her primary care physician in three 

days. McGee followed these instructions, and her primary care physician 

referred her to a hand specialist, Dr. Robert Lock. In October 2013, McGee 

met with Dr. Lock, who recommended a nerve conduction test. After 

reviewing the results and the x-rays, Dr. Lock diagnosed McGee with carpal 

 

1 We view the evidence in the light most favorable to affirming the 

Commission’s findings and awards. Polanco v. Indus. Comm’n, 214 Ariz. 489, 

490-91, ¶ 2 (App. 2007) (citing Roberts v. Indus. Comm’n, 162 Ariz. 108, 110 

(1989)). 
MCGEE v. IHOP/NORTHERN 

Decision of the Court 

3

tunnel syndrome. Dr. Lock performed carpal tunnel surgery on McGee’s 

left wrist later that month. 

¶4 Soon after the surgery, McGee began experiencing intense 

pain in her right wrist, which was also diagnosed as carpal tunnel 

syndrome. Dr. Lock performed carpal tunnel surgery on her right wrist in 

December 2013. 

¶5 After the second surgery, McGee noticed strong pains 

shooting up her arm, moving into her shoulder and back, and causing 

muscle spasms. Believing the pains were caused by the September 2013 

accident, McGee returned to her primary care physician, who 

recommended she see a spine specialist. Dr. John Hall first examined 

McGee in April 2014. He found she had decreased sensation in her cervical 

vertebrae. He later determined from x-rays and an MRI that McGee had 

multiple herniated discs and other degenerative conditions contributing to 

her symptoms.

¶6 Meanwhile, McGee submitted a claim for workers’ 

compensation benefits, seeking reimbursement for her medical expenses 

incurred as a result of the September 2013 accident. Northern Insurance 

Company of New York issued notices denying McGee’s claim in January 

and February 2014. McGee requested a hearing in protest of the denial. 

¶7 At the hearing, Dr. Hall testified he was confident the 

workplace accident either caused or exacerbated McGee’s herniated discs 

but was not convinced the other degenerative spinal conditions were 

caused by the accident. He also testified, “the temporal relationship 

becomes very weak,” noting McGee reported she had been experiencing 

the symptoms for over a year, long before the accident. 

¶8 Dr. Lock testified McGee had indeed been diagnosed, postaccident, with moderate carpal tunnel syndrome. Her x-rays showed she 

was predisposed to wrist problems that were not the result of any trauma, 

and he testified the workplace accident “had zero to do with her carpal 

tunnel syndrome.” He further testified the “notion of work activity as a 

primary cause of carpal tunnel syndrome has largely been debunked. We 

see carpal tunnel syndrome in just as many people who don’t do repetitivetype jobs as patients who do repetitive-type jobs.”
MCGEE v. IHOP/NORTHERN 

Decision of the Court 

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¶9 Dr. Terry McLean testified he performed an independent 

medical evaluation of McGee in May 2014, which included a review of her 

medical records. He testified McGee reported she began experiencing 

lower back pain only two weeks prior to the examination. Dr. McLean also 

testified his examination of McGee’s x-rays confirmed problems within her 

lumbar area but that the workplace accident did not cause any injury to 

McGee. Dr. McLean thus concluded McGee’s neck and back pain was 

unrelated to either the workplace accident specifically, or McGee’s 

employment generally. Dr. Peter Campbell also performed an independent 

medical examination and concluded McGee’s symptoms, including pain 

and weakness in her limbs and spine, blurry vision, dry mouth, and 

headaches, were “clearly unrelated to her previous work duties or the 

reported work injury.”

¶10 In January 2015, the ALJ issued a decision finding McGee 

suffered an industrial injury to her left wrist during the workplace accident. 

McGee was awarded medical, surgical, and hospital benefits related to her 

left wrist injury, from September 6, 2013 “until such time as her condition 

becomes medically stationary, as provided by law.” The ALJ also found the 

injuries to McGee’s right wrist, neck, and lumbar area were noncompensable because they did not result from the accident. 

¶11 McGee timely filed a request for review of the ALJ’s decision, 

which was affirmed upon review. McGee timely petitioned this Court for 

special action relief. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Arizona Revised 

Statutes (A.R.S.) sections 12-120.21(A)(2)2 and 23-951(A), and Arizona Rule 

of Procedure for Special Actions 10. 

DISCUSSION 

¶12 When reviewing a workers’ compensation award, we defer to 

the factual determinations of the ALJ. Tabler v. Indus. Comm’n, 202 Ariz. 

518, 522, ¶ 14 (App. 2002) (citing Vance Int’l v. Indus. Comm’n, 191 Ariz. 98, 

100, ¶ 6 (App. 1998)). We will accept the ALJ’s resolution of a conflict in the 

evidence if it is reasonably supported by the record. Fry’s Food Stores v. 

Indus. Comm’n, 161 Ariz. 119, 121 (1989) (citing Micucci v. Indus. Comm’n, 

108 Ariz. 194, 195 (1972)). 

 

2 Absent material changes from the relevant date, we cite a statute’s 

current version. 
MCGEE v. IHOP/NORTHERN 

Decision of the Court 

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¶13 McGee argues the ALJ erred in finding her right wrist injury 

did not result from the workplace accident because she experienced pain in 

both wrists as a result of the accident. In support of this contention, McGee 

cites a medical record showing she complained of pain in both wrists when 

she saw her primary care physician ten days after the accident and before 

seeing Dr. Lock. However, McGee’s testimony and the medical records 

from her emergency room visit indicate she only complained of pain in her 

left wrist directly after the accident. McGee’s belief that the pain in her right 

wrist was caused by the workplace accident is also inconsistent with Dr. 

Lock’s testimony that McGee’s carpal tunnel syndrome — the source of 

McGee’s wrist pain — was not caused by the accident. Although the 

evidence is conflicting, the record reasonably supports the ALJ’s conclusion 

that the injury to McGee’s right wrist was not work-related and thus not 

compensable. We find no error. 

¶14 McGee also argues the ALJ erred in finding her neck and 

lumbar injuries did not result from the workplace accident because she was 

experiencing shooting pains from her arms into her back just after the 

accident. But, McGee fails to cite any support in the record for this 

contention, and we find none. To the contrary, the record reflects that none 

of McGee’s treating physicians were able to testify to any degree of medical 

probability that her neck and lumbar problems were related to her accident. 

McGee’s own testimony indicates she did not experience this pain until 

after the carpal tunnel surgeries. Furthermore, Drs. Hall, McLean, and 

Campbell all concluded McGee’s neck and lumbar problems were not

caused by the workplace accident, and their reports indicate McGee gave 

inconsistent answers when asked how long she had been experiencing this 

pain. See supra ¶¶ 7, 9. The record reasonably supports the ALJ’s finding 

that McGee’s neck and lumbar injuries were not related to the workplace 

accident, and we again find no error.3

 

3 McGee also argues that IHOP forged her signature on documents 

located within her employee record and claims these documents were 

written in such a way to “hide the fact that this was a Workman’s 

Compensation injury.” Because McGee was not denied the opportunity to 

make a workers’ compensation claim and the records to which she objects 

had no bearing on the ALJ’s decision regarding whether McGee’s injuries 

were compensable, we need not address this argument. 
MCGEE v. IHOP/NORTHERN 

Decision of the Court 

6

CONCLUSION 

¶15 The ALJ’s decision finding McGee’s right wrist, neck, and 

lumbar injuries were not related to the workplace accident and noncompensable is affirmed.