COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Benton, Coleman and Willis 

CHARLES CITY COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS AND 

 VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL GROUP 

 SELF-INSURANCE ASSOCIATION, 

 VML INSURANCE PROGRAMS MEMORANDUM OPINION*

 PER CURIAM 

v. Record No. 2729-96-2 FEBRUARY 25, 1997 

 

JOHN THOMAS WILLIAMS, JR. 

 FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION 

 (Ralph L. Whitt, Jr.; Mark M. Caldwell, III; 

Sands, Anderson, Marks & Miller, on brief), 

for appellants. 

 (Charles A. Gavin; White, Blackburn & Conte, 

P.C., on brief), for appellee. 

 Charles City County Public Works and its insurer 

(hereinafter collectively referred to as "employer") contend that 

the Workers' Compensation Commission erred in (1) finding that 

John Thomas Williams, Jr. proved that he sustained an injury by 

accident arising out of his employment on February 2, 1996; and 

(2) reversing the deputy commissioner's credibility 

determination. 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. Rule 

5A:27. 

 

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

designated for publication. 
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 I. 

 A finding by the commission that an injury did or did not 

arise out of the employment is a mixed finding of law and fact 

and is properly reviewable on appeal. Jones v. Colonial 

Williamsburg Found., 8 Va. App. 432, 434, 382 S.E.2d 300, 301 

(1989). The phrase "arising out of" refers to the origin or 

cause of the injury. County of Chesterfield v. Johnson, 237 Va. 

180, 183, 376 S.E.2d 73, 74 (1989). To prevail, the employee 

must "show that the conditions of the workplace . . . caused the 

injury." Plumb Rite Plumbing Serv. v. Barbour, 8 Va. App. 482, 

484, 382 S.E.2d 305, 306 (1989). "'[C]ontortions of the body' to 

perform a job task is a hazard of the workplace." Grove v. 

Allied Signal, Inc., 15 Va. App. 17, 22, 421 S.E.2d 32, 35 (1992) 

(citation omitted). 

 On appeal, we view the evidence in the light most favorable 

to the prevailing party below. R.G. Moore Bldg. Corp. v. 

Mullins, 10 Va. App. 211, 212, 390 S.E.2d 788, 788 (1990). Based 

on evidence in the record, the commission found that Williams was 

positioned under a desk when he reached up in an awkward position 

to hand his supervisor a heater cover and felt a "pop" in his 

back. The commission found that shortly after the "pop," 

Williams attempted to rise and felt excruciating pain, which he 

immediately reported to his employer. The commission also found 

that Dr. Irby's report provided the causal connection between the 

injury that Williams suffered and the surgery. In rendering its 
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decision, the commission "reviewed the transcript, the recorded 

statement, and the medical records." 

 The commission, in its role as fact finder, was entitled to 

accept Williams' testimony and Dr. Irby's opinion. Williams' 

testimony, and Dr. Irby's opinion, constitute credible evidence 

to support the commission's findings. Williams' employment 

required that he assume an awkward position under the desk, 

remove the heater cover, hand it to his co-worker, and then 

extricate himself from his position under the desk. This 

evidence established that Williams' injury was causally connected 

to the manner in which he was required to perform his work and 

flowed from his employment as a rational consequence. Factual 

findings made by the commission will be upheld on appeal if 

supported by credible evidence. James v. Capitol Steel Constr. 

Co., 8 Va. App. 512, 515, 382 S.E.2d 487, 488 (1989). "The fact 

that there is contrary evidence in the record is of no 

consequence if there is credible evidence to support the 

commission's finding." Wagner Enters., Inc. v. Brooks, 12 Va. 

App. 890, 894, 407 S.E.2d 32, 35 (1991). 

 II. 

 Employer contends that the full commission arbitrarily 

overturned the deputy commissioner's credibility determination 

and failed to articulate a sufficient basis for its conclusion. 

That argument lacks merit. 

 The 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 
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the deputy commissioner's credibility 

findings unreviewable by the commission. 

Rather, it merely requires the commission to 

articulate its reasons for reversing a 

specific credibility determination of the 

deputy commissioner when that determination 

is based upon a recorded observation of 

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). 

 Upon a review of the deputy commissioner's decision, we do 

not find a "specific recorded observation" concerning any 

witness' demeanor or appearance related to a credibility 

determination. The deputy commissioner merely concluded from the 

evidence before him that Williams had not met his burden of 

proof. "Absent a specific, recorded observation regarding the 

behavior, demeanor or appearance of [the witnesses], the 

commission had no duty to explain its reasons for . . . 

[accepting Williams' version of events]." Id. Moreover, the 

commission's opinion clearly shows that it weighed all of the 

evidence, including the recorded statement, the medical records, 

and the witnesses' testimony in rendering its decision. 

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

 Affirmed.