Opinion ID: 1691580
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: permanent partial disability compensation

Text: The City next alleges there was insufficient evidence to support the trial court's conclusion that Cords was eligible for $51.39 per week for 300 weeks in permanent partial disability compensation due to a 10-percent loss of earning power. A determination as to whether an injured worker has had a loss of earning power is a question of fact to be determined by the Workers' Compensation Court. McGowan v. Lockwood Corp., 245 Neb. 138, 511 N.W.2d 118 (1994). Neb.Rev.Stat. § 48-121(2) (Reissue 1993) states in pertinent part: For disability partial in character ... the compensation shall be sixty-six and two thirds percent of the difference between the wages received at the time of the injury and the earning power of the employee thereafter. Earning power, as used in subsection (2) of § 48-121, is not synonymous with wages, but includes eligibility to procure employment generally, ability to hold a job obtained, and capacity to perform the tasks of the work, as well as the ability of the worker to earn wages in the employment in which he is engaged or for which he is fitted. Sidel v. Travelers Ins. Co., 205 Neb. 541, 288 N.W.2d 482 (1980). While expert witness testimony may be necessary to establish the cause of a claimed injury, the Workers' Compensation Court does not need to depend on expert testimony to determine the degree of disability but instead may rely on the testimony of the claimant. See Luehring v. Tibbs Constr. Co ., 235 Neb. 883, 457 N.W.2d 815 (1990). The City did not adduce any evidence concerning Cords' injuries or earning power. In addition to the opinion of Dr. Smith that Cords suffered a 2% partial permanent impairment, Cords personally testified that he continued to suffer from lower back pain and from numbness in the three smallest toes on his right foot. Cords further testified that since the accident, he must walk slowly because when he walks fast it hurts, that he can ride only 50 miles in a car before he has to get out and move around, that he had to buy a riding lawn mower in order to mow his yard, and that after he resigned he began cleaning apartments but quit those jobs because it hurt him to carry things. This testimony, in addition to Cords' age, limited work experience and education, the position he held, the wages he was earning, and the disability that he suffered, establishes that Cords is not employable for a position comparable to the position he held and that he suffered a 10-percent loss of earning capacity. As a result, we conclude that there was sufficient competent evidence in the record justifying the trial court's award of permanent partial disability at a rate of $51.39 per week for 300 weeks.