Case Name: Edward JOHNSON v. RICELAND FOODS
Court: Arkansas Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Arkansas
Decision Date: 1994-10-12
Citations: 47 Ark. App. 71
Docket Number: CA 93-1115
Parties: Edward JOHNSON v. RICELAND FOODS
Judges: Cooper and Mayfield, JJ., dissent.
Reporter: Arkansas Appellate Reports
Volume: 47
Pages: 71–75

Head Matter:
Edward JOHNSON v. RICELAND FOODS
CA 93-1115
884 S.W.2d 626
Court of Appeals of Arkansas En Banc
Opinion delivered October 12, 1994
The Whetstone Law Firm, P.A., by: Gary Davis, for appellant.
Friday, Eldredge & Clark, by; Guy Alton Wade, for appellee.

Opinion:
Judith Rogers, Judge.
This is an appeal from the Workers' Compensation Commission's decision finding that appellant had failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he suffered a compensable injury to his back while working for appellee. On appeal, appellant contends that there is no substantial evidence to support the Commission's decision. We disagree and affirm.
Appellant worked as a dryer operator for appellee. He alleged that on July 22, 1992, he suffered an injury to his back while carrying buckets of wet wheat. Appellee contested appellant's claim by submitting that appellant had hurt his back earlier in June of 1992 when he attempted to move his mother's freezer. The administrative law judge found in appellant's favor, but the Commission reversed.
In reviewing a decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission, we must view the evidence and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commission's findings and affirm if those findings are supported by substantial evidence. Jackson v. Poulan/Weed Eater, 46 Ark. App. 18, 876 S.W.2d 276 (1994). Where the Commission denies a claim because of the claimant's failure to meet his burden of proof, the substantial evidence standard of review requires that we affirm the Commission's decision if its opinion displays a substantial basis for the denial of relief. Johnson v. American Pulpwood Co., 38 Ark. App. 6, 826 S.W.2d 827 (1992). Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. CDI Contractors v. McHale, 41 Ark. App. 47, 849 S.W.2d 1 (1993). The question is not whether we might have reached a different result or whether the evidence would have supported a contrary finding; if reasonable minds could reach the Commission's conclusion, we must affirm its decision. Jackson v. Poulan/Weed Eater, supra.
In support of his claim for benefits, appellant testified that he felt his back pull when he was picking up five-gallon buckets of wet wheat. He said that this incident occurred on July 22, 1992. However, the record reveals that Mr. Johnny Carol Kitler, a coworker, was working beside appellant on July 22, 1992. Mr. Kitler testified that he (appellant) did not tell Mr. Kitler that he had pulled anything that day while moving buckets. Mr. Major Morehead, another co-worker, also testified that appellant did not mention that he had hurt his back at work. The record further discloses that appellant did not report the alleged injury on July 22, 1992, as being work-related until July 27, 1992.
Mr. Morehead and Mr. Kitler both testified that appellant told them that he had hurt his back in June of 1992 while moving a deep freeze for his mother. Mr. Morehead related that appellant had missed a couple of days of work on account of that injury and had returned to work afterwards at light duty. Records introduced by appellee confirmed these missed days of work in June and showed that appellant had reported missing work because he hurt his back moving a deep freeze at his mother's house.
Mr. Kitler also testified that appellant had complained about his back for two or three years prior to this alleged accident on July 22, and that appellant had gone to the chiropractor several times.
It was appellant's burden to show that his back injury resulted from a work-related incident. In an effort to meet this burden, appellant maintained that he had hurt his back on a date certain, July 22, 1992, while moving buckets; he did not claim that the alleged incident aggravated a pre-existing condition. To the contrary, the record reflects that he generally denied having a previous back injury, and, specifically, he denied having hurt his back while moving a freezer. Indeed, he put on evidence attempting to show that his mother's freezer had not been moved. As stated earlier, that evidence was contradicted by appellant's coworkers.
On the evidence presented, the Commission found that appellant's testimony was entitled to little weight when compared to the other evidence presented, and consequently it denied appellant's claim for benefits. In making our review, we recognize that it is the function of the Commission to determine the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony. Ringier America v. Combs, 41 Ark. App. 47, 849 S.W.2d 1 (1993). The Commission resolved the credibility issue in favor of appellee's witnesses, deciding that appellant's testimony was not worthy of belief, and thus we cannot conclude that the Commission's decision does not display a substantial basis for the denial of relief. See Shaw v. Commercial Refrigeration, 36 Ark. App. 76, 818 S.W.2d 589 (1991); Linthicum v. Mar-Bay Shirt Co., 23 Ark. App. 26, 741 S.W.2d 275 (1987).
Affirmed.
Cooper and Mayfield, JJ., dissent.