Opinion ID: 2379412
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Second Compensable Injury/Burden of Proof

Text: [¶ 15] Ms. Kenyon asserts that the OAH erred as a matter of law by failing to apply the second compensable injury rule and its associated burden of proof, which she claims is more lenient than the preponderance of the evidence burden applied by the agency. [2] The second compensable injury rule was recently described by this Court in State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div. v. Kaczmarek, 2009 WY 110, ¶ 9, 215 P.3d 277, 281 (Wyo.2009): Wyoming law has long recognized that a single incident at work can give rise to more than one compensable injury. See Baldwin v. Scullion, 50 Wyo. 508, 62 P.2d 531, 539 (1936). This principle, referred to as the second compensable injury rule, applies when an initial compensable injury ripens into a condition requiring additional medical intervention. Yenne-Tully v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div., 12 P.3d 170, 172 (Wyo.2000). [¶ 16] The issues considered by the OAH in this case were whether the acute injury and resulting surgery in March 2006 and the subsequent total knee replacement in 2008 were the result of Ms. Kenyon's work injury on March 19, 2006, or the result of a preexisting knee condition. The OAH ruled that the 2006 injury and treatment were related to the work accident and therefore compensable, but the 2008 total knee replacement was related to her preexisting condition and not compensable. [¶ 17] Preexisting conditions are excluded from the definition of compensable injury: (xi) Injury means any harmful change in the human organism other than normal aging and includes damage to or loss of any artificial replacement and death, arising out of and in the course of employment while at work in or about the premises occupied, used or controlled by the employer and incurred while at work in places where the employer's business requires an employee's presence and which subjects the employee to extrahazardous duties incident to the business. Injury does not include: . . . . (F) Any injury or condition preexisting at the time of employment with the employer against whom a claim is made[.] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-102(a)(xi) (Lexis-Nexis 2009). [¶ 18] However, an employee who has a pre-existing condition may still recover if her employment aggravated, accelerated, or combined with the disease or infirmity to produce the death or disability for which compensation is sought. Dutcher, ¶ 14, 223 P.3d at 562, citing Lindbloom v. Teton Int'l, 684 P.2d 1388, 1389 (Wyo.1984) and Larson's Workmen's Compensation Law. To prove aggravation of a preexisting condition, a claimant must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the work contributed to a material degree to the aggravation of the condition. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div. v. Slaymaker, 2007 WY 65, ¶ 14, 156 P.3d 977, 981-82 (Wyo.2007). Dutcher, ¶ 15, 223 P.3d at 562. [¶ 19] The OAH made the following relevant conclusions regarding Ms. Kenyon's preexisting knee condition and her March 19, 2006, injury: 67. The undisputed evidence at [the] hearing proved Kenyon suffered from a significant preexisting right knee condition prior to the March 19, 2006 incident. Kenyon had undergone two surgeries and been instructed to wear a knee brace to alleviate [her] right knee pain. 68. The evidence is equally clear that Kenyon had returned to her normal activities and had been performing very physical employment for the years prior to her March 19, 2006 incident. . . . . 71. [T]his Office finds the only evidence at [the] hearing proved Kenyon suffered an[] acute exacerbation of her pre-existing right knee condition during the March 19, 2006 incident. Both Dr. Rork and Dr. Ruttle opined Kenyon had suffered a right knee injury while in the course and scope of her [work] duties. . . . 72. On March 29, 2006, Dr. Rork performed minor arthroscopic surgery to repair Kenyon's acute injury, and also addressed problems associated with Kenyon's chronic osteoarthritis which was most likely caused by Kenyon's original 1998 right knee injury. 73. Kenyon underwent a short course of physical therapy and was seen by Dr. Rork on three follow-up visits. Kenyon discontinued her treatment with Dr. Rork as of May 2, 2006. 74. Kenyon was able to golf and fish and hike after the May 2, 2006 examination. This Office finds, as Dr. Ruttle opined and the evidence indicated, Kenyon had recovered from her March 19, 2006 minor acute injury as of May 2, 2006 when she ceased treatment with Dr. Rork. As to the treatment associated with the total knee replacement, the OAH concluded: 76. The undisputed evidence provided Kenyon sought no right knee medical treatment from May 2, 2006 until November 6, 2007 when she returned to Dr. Rork complaining of continued right knee pain. During the November 6, 2007 examination, Dr. Rork noted Kenyon was suffering from significant osteoarthritis and that Kenyon had never recovered from her March 29, 2006 surgery. 77. Kenyon admitted she sought no right knee treatment for eighteen months, but testified she suffered continued pain throughout the period. As explained above, Kenyon's testimony regarding her continued pain after May 2, 2006 was not credible. It must also be noted, Kenyon returned to her every day activities such as frequent golfing and taking care of her horses without needing additional treatment. 78. Kenyon sought no further treatment from Dr. Rork until February 1, 2008 when she returned complaining of right knee pain aggravated by activity but relieved by rest. 79. In May, 2008, Kenyon subsequently sought right knee treatment in Utah which was reportedly caused by Kenyon golfing. In late June 2008, Kenyon suffered yet another right knee injury stepping into a boat while on a fly fishing outing. Dr. Rork was not aware of Kenyon's intervening incidents and based his opinion solely on Kenyon's limited history. [¶ 20] Under the second compensable injury rule, Ms. Kenyon would be entitled to benefits for the total knee replacement if the injury incurred at work on March 19, 2006, ripened into the condition requiring total knee replacement. It is clear that the hearing examiner considered whether the total knee replacement was caused by her 2006 injury (thus, a second compensable injury) or her preexisting condition. Regardless of whether the issue was phrased in terms of a second compensable injury ruling or not, the OAH considered the proper question in this case. [¶ 21] Ms. Kenyon also argues that the OAH erred by applying the preponderance of the evidence burden of proof. She claims that Pino v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div., 996 P.2d 679, 685 (Wyo.2000) and Kaczmarek, ¶ 11, 215 P.3d at 282-83, indicate that the second compensable injury rule imposes a more lenient burden of proof, i.e., the claimant must demonstrate it is more probable than not that the first and second injury are causally related. [¶ 22] As the OAH recognized, a claimant generally has the burden of proving each of the essential elements of her claim by a preponderance of the evidence. Dale, ¶ 35, 188 P.3d at 563; Sherwin-Williams Co. v. Borchert, 994 P.2d 959, 963 (Wyo.2000). As a part of that burden, the claimant must prove a causal connection exists between a work-related injury and the injury for which worker's compensation benefits are being sought. Id. The definition of preponderance of the evidence is proof which leads the trier of fact to find that the existence of the contested fact is more probable than its non-existence. Judd v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div., 2010 WY 85, ¶ 31, 233 P.3d 956, 968 (Wyo. 2010), quoting Anastos v. General Chemical Soda Ash, 2005 WY 122, ¶ 20, 120 P.3d 658, 665-66 (Wyo.2005). We recognized that preponderance of the evidence is the same as more probable than not in Kaczmarek, ¶ 11, 215 P.3d at 282-83 when we referred to the burden of proof for a second compensable injury using both phrases. Thus, the burden of proof for a second compensable injury is no different than the burden applied to all claimants to show the causal connection between their injuries and their work. [¶ 23] Ms. Kenyon may have gotten the idea that the second compensable injury burden of proof is more lenient from Kaczmarek and Yenne-Tully v. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div., 12 P.3d 170 (Wyo.2000). In Kaczmarek, ¶ 11, 215 P.3d at 282, we distinguished between the preponderance of the evidence burden of proof which applies to second compensable injuries and the more onerous burden of proof for modification of benefits under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-605 (LexisNexis 2009). Under § 27-14-605, the claimant must prove `to a reasonable degree of medical certainty' that the increase or decrease in capacity is `due solely to the injury.' Id., quoting Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-605(a) & (c)(ii). See also, Casper Oil Co. v. Evenson, 888 P.2d 221, 225 (Wyo.1995). In Yenne-Tully, 12 P.3d at 172, we distinguished between the second compensable injury burden and higher standard of proof for an injury which occurs over a substantial period of time under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-603. [¶ 24] The hearing examiner in this case repeatedly stated that Ms. Kenyon was obligated to prove the causal connection between her injury and the employment by a preponderance of the evidence. Therefore, we conclude the OAH applied the correct burden of proof.