Case Name: CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE v. James R. GUESS
Court: Arkansas Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Arkansas
Decision Date: 1984-02-08
Citations: 10 Ark. App. 313
Docket Number: CA 83-370
Parties: CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE v. James R. GUESS
Judges: Glaze, J., agrees; Mayfield, C.J., concurs.
Reporter: Arkansas Appellate Reports
Volume: 10
Pages: 313–321

Head Matter:
CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE v. James R. GUESS
CA 83-370
663 S.W.2d 946
Court of Appeals of Arkansas Division I
Opinion delivered February 8, 1984
E. Diane Graham, Public Employee Claims Division, Arkansas Insurance Department, for appellant.
Odom, Elliott, Lee ér Martin, by: Mark L. Martin, for appellee.

Opinion:
George K. Cracraft, Judge.
The City of Fayetteville appeals from an order of the Workers' Compensation Commission affirming the finding of the Administrative Law Judge that appellee has sustained permanent partial disability equal to 25% to the body as a whole. Appellant contends that the finding is not supported by substantial evidence and was the result of misapplication of the law. We do not agree.
At a hearing before the Administrative Law Judge it was stipulated that the appellee had received a compensable injury while in the employ of the appellant and that he had incurred at least a 10% functional impairment. The appellee contended that he has suffered wage loss disability in addition to his functional impairment.
After the injury a myelogram revealed a herniated disc and lumbar strain. Appellee was given a steroid injection and made remarkable symptomatic improvement without surgery. The doctor gave him a rating of 10% permanent disability to the body as a whole. He was released to his regular work the following month. There was testimony that the doctor had informed appellee when he returned to work that he should remain on light work duty for at least a year. Appellee testified that he had told the doctor that in view of the nature of his work this would be impossible. He stated that the doctor then told him to go back to his regular employment but to "be careful."
Appellee's job activities included lifting, standing, squatting, bending, kneeling, twisting, turning, and required moderate to heavy physical activity. The appellee testified that since his return to work he had lost strength in his back and his legs as a result of pain. He was unable to handle the air compressors, jackhammer, 90 pound bags of cement and sections of pipe as he had before his injury. He stated that he now requires the assistance of a helper in lifting objects. He stated that he could not tighten bolts as he had before, and that bending and shoveling affected him quickly. He had difficulty torquing clamps on water mains because of his pain and could not work in crouched positions on water mains for over twenty or thirty minutes at a time without resting. He testified that his additional rest breaks to get relief from pain and his physical limitations had affected his ability to complete his work on time. His pain was getting worse and he was concerned about not being able to carry his share of the workload with his crew. A supervisor testified that he would hesitate to assign some jobs to appellee because of his back problems and his having to "watch heavy lifting."
Appellee was twenty-nine years old with a tenth grade education. He had formerly worked as a drill press operator, a delivery truck driver and in a power line construction crew. He was first employed by the City of Fayetteville as a laborer and at the time of his injury he was working foreman over a three man labor crew. After his injury he had returned to his job at the same wages and subsequently received, along with all other city employees, a 14% cost of living increase.
The Administrative Law Judge found that appellant had suffered wage loss disability in addition to the 10% functional loss and he had proved by a preponderance of the evidence that he had incurred permanent partial disability equal to 25% to the body as a whole. On appeal the Commission found that the Administrative Law Judge's decision was supported by the preponderance of the evidence and affirmed his decision. This action by the Commission had the effect of adopting the findings and conclusions of the Administrative Law Judge as its own. Lybrand v. Ark. Oak Flooring, 266 Ark. 946, 588 S.W.2d 449 (1979).
On appellate review the decision of the Commission will be upheld if supported by substantial evidence. There is substantial evidence to uphold such an award if reasonable minds could have reached the same conclusion. This court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the findings of the Commission and gives the testimony its strongest probative value in favor of its order. Allen Canning Co. v. McReynolds, 5 Ark. App. 78, 632 S.W.2d 450 (1982).
It is well settled that a worker who sustains an injury to the body as a whole may be entitled to wage loss disability in addition to his anatomical loss. Glass v. Edens, 233 Ark. 786, 346 S.W.2d 685 (1961). In determining the additional wage loss disability the Commission may take into consideration the worker's age, education, work experience, medical evidence and other matters reasonably expected to affect the worker's future earning power. A worker may be entitled to additional wage loss disability even though his wages remain the same or increase after the injury. Lion Oil Company v. Reeves, 221 Ark. 5, 254 S.W.2d 450 (1952).
Appellant contends, however, that in affirming the findings and conclusions of the Administrative Law Judge, the Commission considered factors which were improper in a determination of additional wage loss disability. He argues that the Commission shifted the burden to the appellant to produce "negative factors" which tend to diminish any wage loss disability instead of requiring the appellant to prove his disability factors. One conclusion of the Administrative Law Judge which was adopted by the Commission was as follows:
The Workers' Compensation Commission in determining the amount of disability as opposed to functional impairment takes into consideration not only the claimant's age, education and work experience, but other factors as well. Motivation to return to work, post-injury earnings, credibility, demeanor and a multiplicity of factors should be and are considered by the Law Judge in his determination.
His decision commented on the fact that appellee was found to be "highly believable, credible and one who is making a genuine and sincere effort in attempting to return to the work environment." He found that the appellee had returned to full duties against the advice of his doctor, was attempting to perform many duties which he probably ought not perform and was doing everything possible to minimize the effects of his injury. He concluded, "[Tjhis basically translates that in my opinion there are not present any negative factors which would have a tendency to diminish a consideration of wage loss."
Our reading of the Administrative Law Judge's opinion does not lead us to the conclusion that the Commission was using his discussion of the absence of negative factors to reward appellee by giving him an unjustified additional wage loss disability, as contended by appellant. To the contrary we conclude that the Commission was saying that the absence of negative factors made appellee's evidence of diminished earning capacity a more acceptable basis for its finding of fact. This is clear from the discussion by the Administrative Law Judge of recent opinions in which we upheld the Commission's consideration of apparent negative attitudes on the part of some claimants to exploit full potential on entering the job market. We stated that a claimant's lack of interest and negative attitude was an impediment to the Commission's full assessment of a claimant's loss and was a factor it could consider in determining that his wage loss was not as great as he stated it to be. Oller v. Champion Parts Rebuilders, 5 Ark. App. 307, 635 S.W.2d 276 (1982). Here the Commission merely held that there was an absence of negative circumstances having a tendency to diminish those wage loss factors about which this appellee testified. It is clear to us that these factors were considered by the Commission, not in arriving at the amount of the award, but in determining whether the appellee had sustained his burden of proof that he had in fact sustained additional wage loss disability.
Although the Commission's knowledge and experience is not evidence, once it has before it firm medical evidence of physical impairment and functional limitation it has the advantage of its own superior knowledge of industrial demands, limitations and requirements and can apply its knowledge and expertise in weighing the medical evidence of functional limitations together with other evidence of the manner in which the functional disability will affect the ability of an injured employee to obtain or hold a job and thereby arrive at reasonably accurate conclusions as to the extent of permanent partial disability as related to the body as a whole. Oller v. Champion Parts Rebuilders, supra; Rooney & Travelers Ins. Co. v. Charles, 262 Ark. 695, 560 S.W.2d 797 (1978). We find no error.
Glaze, J., agrees; Mayfield, C.J., concurs.