STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA FILED 

July 27, 2015 

RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

OF WEST VIRGINIA 

EDRIA DUNN,
 

Claimant Below, Petitioner
 

vs.) No. 13-1029 (BOR Appeal No. 2048231) 

(Claim No. 2011021440) 

TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY, 

Employer Below, Respondent 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Petitioner Edria Dunn, by Gregory S. Prudich, her attorney, appeals the decision of the 

West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. Tractor Supply Company, by Jeffery 

B. Brannon, its attorney, filed a timely response. 

This appeal arises from the Board of Review’s Final Order dated September 13, 2013, in 

which the Board affirmed a March 8, 2013, Order of the Workers’ Compensation Office of 

Judges. In its Order, the Office of Judges affirmed the claims administrator’s December 21, 

2010, decision to reject the claim. 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. Dunn, an employee of Tractor Supply Company, was moving feed bags on 

December 9, 2010, when she walked to the back of the store to use the restroom. On her way 

back to the front of the store, Ms. Dunn felt and heard her knee pop. Ms. Dunn was first seen on 

December 14, 2010, by Steven O’Saile, M.D. Dr. O’Saile diagnosed her with left knee internal 

derangement. Dr. O’Saile also suspected a tear of the medial meniscus. As a result, Dr. O’Saile 

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recommended an MRI of the left knee to access the possible damage. Ms. Dunn filed her 

application for workers’ compensation benefits and the claims administrator denied her request 

on December 21, 2010. The claims administrator determined that because Ms. Dunn’s injury was 

idiopathic in nature she failed to show that her injury was received in the course of and was a 

result of her employment with Tractor Supply Company. Ms. Dunn protested. 

Tractor Supply Company introduced medical records that showed on June 14, 2010, Ms. 

Dunn reported to Jana Peters, D.O., almost six months before the date of the compensable injury 

with left knee pain, right foot pain, and pain on top of left foot. Ms. Dunn stated that she dropped 

a board on her foot. Ms. Dunn tested positive for spur on the right heel. Ms. Dunn indicated that 

she had received an injection by Dr. O’Saile but that it yielded little relief. Dr. Peters noted 

complaints of corn on right metatarsal/plantar surface, and left knee pain for two to three months 

even though there was no known injury. She reported her left knee gives out and locks up on 

occasion. After examination, Dr. Peters diagnosed corn on the right metatarsal, right foot pain, 

hypertension, depression, hyperlipidemia, and left knee pain. Dr. Peters referred her to a 

podiatrist and for an MRI of the left knee. On June 22, 2010, Ms. Dunn had an MRI of the knee. 

The MRI revealed a small knee joint effusion and a popliteal space cyst. The impression was 

osteoarthritis, worse in the medial and patellofemoral compartments. There was a medial 

collateral ligament sprain with edema. There was no fracture shown but degenerative changes in 

the menisci were present. An x-ray was also taken. The impression on the left knee x-ray was 

mild osteoarthritis. Also on July 6, 2010, Ms. Dunn reported to Dr. O’Saile, with new left knee 

symptoms, which began along the medial aspect. Dr. O’Saile instructed her to follow-up in one 

month and if she had not improved, he would consider arthroscopic debridement. 

The Office of Judges determined that Ms. Dunn failed to show her injury was a result of 

her employment with Tractor Supply Company. The Office of Judges noted that the MRI 

revealed a complex tear of the medial meniscus, a popliteal space cyst, an atypical meniscal cyst 

or ganglionic cyst on the posterior aspect of the knee joint, and osteoarthritis. Dr. O’Saile who 

testified in this matter, also relayed that he believed the popping heard by Ms. Dunn on the date 

of injury was her medial meniscus tearing. However, the Office of Judges determined that 

nothing at Tractor Supply Company either caused her to be injured or put her at a greater risk of 

injury. The Office of Judges noted that Ms. Dunn admitted that she did not trip, or slip, or come 

into contact with anything at Tractor Supply Company. She was simply walking when her knee 

popped. Because her injury was idiopathic in nature and not related to her work the Office of 

Judges affirmed the claims administrator’s decision to reject the claim. The Board of Review 

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

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

Ms. Dunn has failed to prove that her injury was in any way connected to her work. She was 

simply walking back to work when her knee popped. The injury could have happened to her at 

any time. Because there was no evidence that her work either caused her injury or contributed to 

her injury, Ms. Dunn has failed to show how her injury was a result of her employment with 

Tractor Supply Company. 

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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. 

Affirmed. 

ISSUED: July 27, 2015 

CONCURRED IN BY: 

Chief Justice Margaret L. Workman 

Justice Brent D. Benjamin 

Justice Allen H. Loughry II 

DISSENTING: 

Justice Robin J. Davis 

Justice Menis E. Ketchum 

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