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STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

CONSTELLIUM ROLLED PRODUCTS RAVENSWOOD,

Employer Below, Petitioner

vs.) No. 18-1123 (BOR Appeal No. 2053011)

(Claim No. 2018005073)

 

EDWARD BARNETTE, 

Claimant Below, Respondent

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Petitioner Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, by Counsel Alyssa A. Sloan, appeals 

the decision of the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review (“Board of Review”). 

Edward Barnette, by Counsel Edwin H. Pancake, filed a timely response.

The issue on appeal is compensability. The claims administrator rejected the claim on 

September 28, 2017. The Office of Judges reversed the decision in its May 18, 2018, Order and 

held the claim compensable for left knee and hamstring sprains. The Order was affirmed by the 

Board of Review on November 29, 2018.

The Court has carefully reviewed the records, written arguments, and appendices contained 

in the briefs, and the case is mature for consideration. 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. 

Mr. Barnette, a crane operator, injured his left knee while ascending stairs in the course of 

his employment on August 26, 2017. Treatment notes from Jackson General Hospital emergency 

department that day indicate Mr. Barnette was walking up a flight of stairs when his left knee 

popped and gave out. An x-ray showed mild degenerative changes. He was diagnosed with a knee 

sprain. 

In an August 28, 2017, email, Brian Well, Mr. Barnette’s coworker, stated that Mr. Barnette 

radioed him and stated that he was walking up stairs when his left knee locked up. Mr. Well stated 

that Mr. Barnette told him he did not fall or twist his knee. In an email the following day, Stephanie 

FILED

November 15, 2019

EDYTHE NASH GAISER, CLERK

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

OF WEST VIRGINIA
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Pullen, a claim examiner with the claims administrator, stated that Mr. Barnette reported to her 

that he was walking up a flight of stairs when his left knee locked up. Ms. Pullen stated that the 

injury was questionable because Mr. Barnette was merely walking up a flight of stairs. 

Two Reports of Injury were completed in this case. On August 28, 2017, the Employees’ 

and Physicians’ Report of Injury indicates Mr. Barnette was climbing crane stairs when his knee 

popped and gave out. The physician’s section was completed at Jackson General Hospital and the 

diagnosis was listed as a left knee sprain. It was noted that the injury aggravated a prior 

injury/disease. A second Report of Injury was completed the following day. It indicates Mr. 

Barnette was climbing stairs to a crane when his left knee popped and gave out. The physician’s 

section was completed by Dr. Roush and listed the injury as left knee and hamstring sprains. 

Kelly Roush, D.C., treated Mr. Barnette for left knee pain on August 29, 2017. Mr. Barnette 

reported that he was walking up a flight of stairs when his left knee popped and gave out. He stated 

that he had left knee pain, weakness, and instability. Dr. Roush fitted Mr. Barnette for a knee brace 

and recommended an MRI. She diagnosed left knee sprain and left hamstring sprain. A left knee 

MRI was performed on September 13, 2017, and showed degenerative changes and possible small 

tears with adjacent tendinosis. 

An October 24, 2017, treatment note by Dr. Roush indicates Mr. Barnette was treated for 

left knee pain. He had reduced range of motion and difficulty bending. Dr. Roush diagnosed left 

knee sprain and posterior cruciate ligament tear. On October 31, 2017, Dr. Roush noted that Mr. 

Barnette aggravated his knee while mowing grass over the weekend. A surgical consultation was 

recommended for a posterior cruciate ligament tear. On November 2, 2017, Dr. Roush noted that 

the left knee was swollen and weak. She recommended a consultation for an anterior cruciate 

ligament tear. Mr. Barnette underwent a partial medial menisectomy of the left knee on November 

16, 2017. It was noted that he had a small posterior medial meniscus tear. 

Mr. Barnette testified in a March 20, 2018, deposition that at the time of his injury, he was 

climbing up crane stairs and he felt a pop in his knee. At the time, he was at the 44th or 46th step, 

near the top. He testified that he makes that climb four or five times a shift. Mr. Barnette stated 

that he had no prior left knee injuries or symptoms. 

The claims administrator rejected the claim on September 28, 2017. The Office of Judges 

reversed the decision and held the claim compensable for sprains of the left knee and hamstring in 

its May 18, 2018, Order. The Office of Judges determined that Mr. Barnette showed by a 

preponderance of the evidence that he sustained left knee and hamstring sprains in the course of 

and resulting from his employment. The record shows that he was climbing forty-six to forty-eight 

steps when his left knee popped and gave out. The Office of Judges found this to be an activity 

that was clearly performed in furtherance of his employment duties. Further, the steps were not a 

normal flight of stairs. Mr. Barnette stated he was required to climb these stairs when the injury 

occurred. The Office of Judges noted that this Court found in Cox v. Fairfield Inn, No. 14-0871, 

2015 WL 3767243, at *2 (June 16, 2015) (memorandum decision), that an employee who injured 

her right ankle while walking down a hallway sustained a compensable injury. Lastly, the Office 
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of Judges noted that there was no evidence submitted from a medical expert indicating that the left 

knee injury was the result of a preexisting condition. 

Regarding the compensable conditions in the claim, the Office of Judges found that the 

Report of Injury completed by Dr. Roush listed the diagnoses as left knee sprain and left hamstring 

sprain. There was no other medical evidence of causality submitted into the record. Though Mr. 

Barnette underwent surgery for a left meniscal tear, no physician of record causally connected the 

tear to the compensable injury. The Board of Review adopted the findings of fact and conclusions 

of law of the Office of Judges and affirmed its Order on November 29, 2018.

After review, we agree with the reasoning and conclusions of the Office of Judges as 

affirmed by the Board of Review. Pursuant to West Virginia Code § 23-4-1 (2008), employees

who receive injuries in the course of and as a result of their covered employment are entitled to 

benefits. For an injury to be compensable it must be a personal injury that was received in the 

course of employment, and it must have resulted from that employment. Barnett v. State 

Workmen’s Compensation Commissioner, 153 W.Va. 796, 172 S.E.2d 698 (1970). A 

preponderance of the evidence indicates Mr. Barnette was injured in the course of performing his 

job duties and his left knee and hamstring sprains resulted from his performance of said duties. 

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 so clearly wrong based upon the evidentiary record that even when all 

inferences are resolved in favor of the Board of Review’s findings, reasoning and conclusions, 

there is insufficient support to sustain the decision. Therefore, the decision of the Board of Review 

is affirmed. 

 Affirmed.

ISSUED: November 15, 2019

CONCURRED IN BY:

Chief Justice Elizabeth D. Walker

Justice Margaret L. Workman

Justice Tim Armstead

Justice Evan H. Jenkins

Justice John A. Hutchison