Opinion ID: 1621874
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: neck and low-back injuries

Text: It is undisputed that the record supports the Workers' Compensation Court's finding that Worline sustained injuries arising out of the course and scope of his employment. The first issue raised by Alstom Power is whether competent evidence established that Worline suffered an injury to his neck. Alstom Power claims the compensation court was clearly wrong in finding there was a neck injury. The company relies on the fact that Worline initially did not mention any injury to his neck. Alstom Power also relies upon the opinion of Dr. John Goldner, who conducted an independent evaluation and opined that it was unlikely Worline would not have noticed neck pain with radicular symptoms down the right arm even in the presence of right shoulder pain. Alstom Power contends that ordinary work, not the November 2000 accident, caused the herniated C4-5 disk. The company claims that the opinions of Turner, Rangitsch, and Zondag were based upon erroneous statements regarding Worline's symptoms and that, therefore, the award of benefits for a neck injury was clearly wrong. In our review, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to Worline, the successful party, and the findings of the Workers' Compensation Court have the same force and effect as a jury verdict in a civil case. See, Vega v. Iowa Beef Processors, 270 Neb. 255, 699 N.W.2d 407 (2005); Toombs v. Driver Mgmt., Inc., 248 Neb. 1016, 540 N.W.2d 592 (1995). Barrasso examined Worline and recorded that he had injured his back and right shoulder while working. After arthroscopic shoulder surgery, Barrasso noted that Worline had tenderness in his neck and that he was distinctly able to tell the difference between the right shoulder pain and the neck pain; whereas before surgery, he had felt like the pain was running together. Turner opined that Worline's cervical and lumbar injuries were sustained in the accident of November 2, 2000. Rangitsch concluded that Worline's work-related injuries were consistent with the symptoms that he subsequently had experienced and that the limitations of Worline's neck, shoulder, and back were due to those injuries. Zondag conducted an independent medical evaluation of Worline and opined that his neck and low-back injuries were causally related to the work-related accident in November 2000. The evidence before the Workers' Compensation Court included the opinions of at least three physicians who expressed that Worline's neck injury was caused by the work-related accident. If the record contains evidence to substantiate the factual conclusions reached by the trial court in workers' compensation cases, an appellate court is precluded from substituting its view of the facts for that of the compensation court. Frauendorfer v. Lindsay Mfg. Co., 263 Neb. 237, 639 N.W.2d 125 (2002). Regarding Worline's low-back injury, Alstom Power asserts that he complained of low-back symptoms immediately after the work-related accident but that thereafter, the medical records are devoid of complaints of low-back pain. The record does not support this assertion. On March 1, 2002, Turner recorded that Worline suffered from chronic back pain and he recommended physical therapy and the use of anti-inflammatory medications. Turner testified that Worline continued to complain of an aching back. Worline also testified that he experienced pain in his neck and lower back while working in 2002. On May 11, 2004, Wampler noted that Worline was experiencing low-back pain. Turner, Rangitsch, and Zondag had all concluded that Worline's low-back symptoms were causally related to the work incident. The evidence in the record, viewed in the light most favorable to Worline, supports the finding of the trial court that he injured his lower back as a result of the November 2000 accident. The trial court is entitled to accept the opinion of one expert over another. See Zessin v. Shanahan Mechanical & Elec., 251 Neb. 651, 558 N.W.2d 564 (1997). When the record in a workers' compensation case presents conflicting medical testimony, an appellate court will not substitute its judgment for that of the compensation court. Sweeney v. Kerstens & Lee, Inc., 268 Neb. 752, 688 N.W.2d 350 (2004). The record before us contains sufficient evidence to substantiate the factual conclusions reached by the Workers' Compensation Court regarding Worline's neck and low-back injuries. Sufficient competent evidence in the record supports the judgment of the court, and the findings of fact by the court support the award.