STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS FILED 

June 27, 2014 

RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK 

TAMMI L. CONNARD, SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

OF WEST VIRGINIA 

Claimant Below, Petitioner 

vs.) No. 13-0440 (BOR Appeal No. 2047678) 

(Claim No. 2010101551) 

BURLINGTON UNITED METHODIST FAMILY SERVICES, 

Employer Below, Respondent 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Petitioner Tammi L. Connard, by John H. Shumate Jr., her attorney, appeals the decision 

of the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. Burlington United Methodist 

Family Services, by Marion E. Ray, its attorney, filed a timely response. 

This appeal arises from the Board of Review’s Final Order dated April 1, 2013, in which 

the Board affirmed a September 19, 2012, Order of the Workers’ Compensation Office of 

Judges. In its Order, the Office of Judges affirmed the claims administrator’s December 23, 

2010, decision granting Ms. Connard no permanent partial disability award. 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. 

Ms. Connard worked for Burlington United Methodist Family Services as a shift 

supervisor. On July 30, 2009, Ms. Connard was hit in the jaw by a struggling patient. The claims 

administrator held her claim compensable for a sprain of the jaw and an unspecified injury to the 

face and neck. Randall Short, M.D., then reviewed Ms. Connard’s records and determined that 

there did not appear to be any impairment related to her jaw. He noted that she had previously 

undergone surgery on the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) of her jaw in 2007 and 2008. Dr. 

Short found that her jaw joints were replaced with prosthetic joints and this condition was not 

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related to her compensable injury. On December 23, 2010, the claims administrator granted Ms. 

Connard no permanent partial disability award related to her jaw injury. Yogesh Chand, M.D., 

then performed an independent medical evaluation of Ms. Connard. Dr. Chand believed that Ms. 

Connard had not reached her maximum degree of medical improvement, but he found that she 

had 19% whole person impairment under the American Medical Association’s Guides to the 

Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (4th ed. 1993). Dr. Chand found that she had 7% 

impairment because she could only masticate semi-solid food, 10% impairment for trigeminal 

neuralgia pain, and 3% impairment for abscess teeth. Prasadarao B. Mukkamala, M.D., also 

evaluated Ms. Connard, and he determined that her compensable injury had fully resolved. He 

found that she had no impairment or continuing symptoms related to her compensable 

conditions. Dr. Mukkamala determined that there was no evidence of trigeminal neuralgia. He 

also found that Ms. Connard’s masticating problems were related to her pre-existing TMJ 

condition and surgeries. On September 19, 2012, the Office of Judges affirmed the claims 

administrator’s decision. The Board of Review affirmed the Order of the Office of Judges on 

April 1, 2013, leading Ms. Connard to appeal. 

The Office of Judges concluded that the grant of no permanent partial disability award for 

the compensable jaw injury should be affirmed. The Office of Judges pointed out that both Dr. 

Short and Dr. Mukkamala found that Ms. Connard had no impairment of the jaw related to her 

July 30, 2009, injury. The Office of Judges considered the opinion of Dr. Chand, but it did not 

rely on his impairment calculation. The Office of Judges determined that Dr. Chand provided 

impairment ratings for trigeminal neuralgia pain and abscessed teeth even though they were not 

compensable conditions of the claim. The Office of Judges also found that Ms. Connard’s 

inability to masticate solid foods was not related to the compensable injury but to her preexisting TMJ condition. The Office of Judges determined that Ms. Connard should not receive 

any permanent partial disability award for this pre-existing condition. The Board of Review 

adopted the findings of the Office of Judges and affirmed its Order. 

We agree with the conclusions of the Board of Review and the findings of the Office of 

Judges. Ms. Connard has not demonstrated that she is entitled to any permanent partial disability 

award in relation to her July 30, 2009, jaw strain and face and neck injury. The evaluation of Dr. 

Mukkamala demonstrates that Ms. Connard has no whole person impairment related to her 

compensable injury. Dr. Mukkamala recognized that Ms. Connard had some jaw related 

disability which prevented her from chewing solid foods. However, Dr. Mukkamala attributed 

this disability to her pre-existing TMJ condition. Dr. Mukkamala provided a thorough evaluation 

of Ms. Connard’s impairment, and the Office of Judges was within its discretion in relying on his 

opinion. The Office of Judges was also justified in not relying on Dr. Chand’s impairment 

calculation because his impairment rating would have compensated Ms. Connard for noncompensable conditions. 

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. 

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Affirmed. 

ISSUED: June 27, 2014 

CONCURRED IN BY: 

Chief Justice Robin J. Davis 

Justice Margaret L. Workman 

Justice Allen H. Loughry II 

DISSENTING: 

Justice Brent D. Benjamin 

Justice Menis E. Ketchum 

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