Thompson obtained an accurate history and concluded that claimant suffered from lumbar and cervical strains and longstanding L4-5 degenerative disc disease. Employer issued a partial denial, accepting the strains but denying the herniated disc. At hearing, both Gallo and Thompson agreed that claimant suffered from a preexisting condition, that is, L4-5 degenerative disc disease, before the July 1998 injury. The physicians also agreed that the preexisting condition combined with the July 1998 injury to create the current disability or need for treatment. Gallo, however, concluded that the 1998 injury was the major contributing cause of the combined condition, while Thompson concluded that the preexisting condition was the major contributing cause.
Employer responds that there is no such rule of law.
According to employer, Mageske and other cases do not stand for a rule of law that the opinions of treating physicians must receive greater weight, but rather merely reflect the practices of this court during an era in which it reviewed workers' compensation decisions on a de novo basis. Under current law, employer argues, the findings of the Board must be affirmed on review if they are supported by substantial evidence. We agree with employer. In the context of that de novo review, we noted in a number of decisions a tendency to give greater weight to the opinion of a treating physician in cases in which the medical evidence was divided, because the record revealed that the treating physician had more complete knowledge of the relevant facts. It bears emphasis that we have never announced a rule of law that we, the Board, or any other finder of fact must give greater weight to the opinions of treating physicians under any circumstances.