Opinion ID: 1930702
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bus Door Accident (January 17, 1990)

Text: As a result of the January 17, 1990 accident, Landesberg claims that she suffered physical injuries to her lower back, cervical disc, and neck. In addition, she alleges that the accident caused her emotional and psychological harm in the form of post-traumatic depressive symptoms for which she received medical treatment. The hearing examiner viewed each of her claims of disability separately to determine whether the claim was compensable under the Act. With respect to Landesberg's claim for benefits for the injuries to her lower back, the hearing examiner determined that Landesberg failed to prove that the nature and extent of her injuries resulted in a loss of wages for the relevant time period of her disability claim. Specifically, the hearing examiner found that she was injured by the bus door accident, but that her injuries had resolved before the claimed disability period, so she was not entitled to benefits for that period of time. In reaching that decision, the hearing examiner relied on the opinion of Dr. Dennis. In the medical records submitted as part of the record in this case, Dr. Dennis indicated that by June 5, 1990, Landesberg's back condition had resolved because an examination revealed that she had a full range of motion of her lumbar spine, and as of September 6, 1990, there was no mention of any complications. [2] Because the period for which Landesberg claimed a loss of wages did not begin to run until October 26, 1992, the Director's decision denying Landesberg's disability benefits for injuries to her lower back that resulted from the bus door accident is supported by substantial evidence in the record. While the hearing examiner found that Landesberg's lower back injury arose out of the accident involving the bus doors, he concluded that neither the cervical disc injury, the neck injury, nor the psychological injuries suffered by Landesberg were related to the accident. In making the determination that the cervical disc injury was not related to the January 17, 1990 accident, the hearing examiner relied on an October 15, 1990, opinion by Dr. Dennis that the cervical condition from which Ms. Landesberg now suffers is not related to the January 17, 1990 accident. Because there is substantial evidence in the record to support the hearing examiner's findings, we find no error in the Director's affirmance in this regard. See Children's Defense Fund, 726 A.2d at 1247. As for Landesberg's claim that she injured her neck as a result of the bus door accident, the hearing examiner also relied on the October 15, 1990 report by Dr. Dennis that concluded that there was no causal relationship between the injury and the accident. Unlike in the case of the cervical disc injury, however, Dr. Dennis subsequently reconsidered his opinion regarding the neck injury and, based on new information provided to him by Landesberg, concluded in a November 20, 1990 report that her neck injury was indeed caused by the bus door accident, and therefore, did arise out of her employment with WMATA. The hearing examiner rejected Dr. Dennis' new opinion, finding that the new information provided by Landesberg was not significant enough to justify a departure from his earlier opinion. While our case law makes it clear that it is the hearing examiner's role to evaluate the evidence presented, see George Hyman Constr. Co., 498 A.2d at 566, it is also well settled that the judgment of the hearing examiner or the Director will not be upheld unless it is in accordance with the law and supported by substantial evidence in the record. See Children's Defense Fund, 726 A.2d at 1247. In this case, while it is true that Dr. Dennis initially concluded that there was no causal relationship between the bus door accident and Landesberg's neck injury, his subsequent conflicting opinion substantially undermined the probative value of that opinion. The only other evidence in the record regarding Landesberg's neck injury claim is an opinion by Dr. Roselle, a physician who also treated Landesberg. Dr. Roselle concluded that Landesberg's neck injury was, in fact, caused by the bus doors. [3] It appears from a fair reading of the record that the hearing examiner substituted his judgment as to what was medically significant evidence of a casual connection between Landesberg's neck injury and the accident involving the bus door for that of the treating physician. The hearing examiner then relied on his substituted judgment to support a finding that there was no causal connection between the bus door accident and Landesberg's neck injury. Because we find such a decision is not supported by substantial evidence in the record, we reverse the Director's order affirming the hearing examiner's findings with respect to Landesberg's claim of disability for her neck injuries arising out of the January 17, 1990 bus accident. With respect to Landesberg's claim that she developed post-traumatic depressive symptoms as a result of the accident, the hearing examiner found that the evidence relied on by Landesberg to support her claim was insufficient as a matter of law. We agree. While Landesberg's psychiatrist, Dr. Wood opined that the January 17, 1990 accident caused emotional stress for Landesberg because it placed limitations on [her] activities, such an opinion without more is insufficient to support a claim of disability based on emotional injury. In Porter v. District of Columbia Dep't of Employment Servs., 625 A.2d 886 (D.C.1993), we upheld the application of an objective causal test to claims of emotional injury. The director may properly apply a rule for causation in this difficult area of emotional injury that discourages spurious claims-one focusing on the objective conditions of the job and their effect on the `normal employee' not predisposed to the injury by a mental disorder. Id. at 889. First, based largely on admissions by Landesberg, the hearing examiner found that she was predisposed to psychological problems. Next, Dr. Wood's opinion did not indicate that the conditions that caused the emotional injury were so stressful that a reasonable person not predisposed to psychological injury might suffer the same injury. However, psychological injuries are only compensable under the Act if the accident constitutes a sufficient stressor. See Porter v. District of Columbia Dep't of Employment Servs., 625 A.2d 886, 889 (D.C.1993). Based on the finding by the hearing examiner that Landesberg was predisposed to psychological injury, and the lack of any evidence in the record that an employee not so predisposed would have suffered a similar injury arising out of the same circumstances, the Director's decision is supported by the record. [4]