Opinion ID: 1791143
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: Section 25-5-81(e)(2), Ala.Code 1975, a part of the Act, states that if an appellate court is reviewing pure findings of fact in a workers' compensation case, the finding of the circuit court shall not be reversed if that finding is supported by substantial evidence. Substantial evidence is evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved. West v. Founders Life Assur. Co. of Florida, 547 So.2d 870, 871 (Ala.1989), quoted in Ex parte Northam, 689 So.2d 854, 856 (Ala.1996); see Ala. Code 1975, § 12-21-12(d). As this Court explained in Ex parte Golden Poultry Co., Inc., 772 So.2d 1175 (Ala.2000), the Court of Civil Appeals in a workers' compensation case is authorized to determine whether the trial court's decision is supported by sufficient evidence [i.e., substantial evidence], but it is not authorized to independently weigh the evidence. 772 So.2d at 1177 (citing Ex parte Alabama Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 667 So.2d 97, 99 (Ala. 1995)) (emphasis and bracketed language added).