Opinion ID: 1387193
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Workers' Compensation Claim

Text: Osborne initially accepted Jordan's claim for workers' compensation benefits and paid temporary total disability (TTD) and medical costs from June 7, 1990 to October 9, 1990, at which time Jordan was released for light duty work as medically stable under AS 23.30.265(21). In January 1991, Jordan filed an Application for Adjustment of Claim requesting a hearing before the Board. Osborne filed an answer controverting the benefits requested by Jordan on the grounds that his back condition was not work-related. A hearing before the Board was held on December 17, 1991, but was not concluded. When the Board reconvened on February 4, 1992, one of the three members of the panel considering Jordan's claim was not present. The remaining two members proceeded to hear the case under AS 23.30.005(f), which permits two of the three panel members to constitute a quorum. In a February 1992 Decision and Order, the two members of the panel hearing the claim announced that they could not agree on whether Jordan's claim was compensable. They decided to submit the recorded testimony from the February 4, 1992, hearing to the third member to review and cast the deciding vote. [4] In a second Decision and Order issued March 31, 1992, the absent member of the panel, having reviewed the record, decided the claim was not compensable. The majority concluded that Jordan was not a credible witness and that, as a result, the medical reports supporting his claim also were not credible since they were based on what Jordan had reported to the physicians. The third board member wrote a separate dissenting opinion. He wrote: I do not find it particularly surprising that someone suffering sharp back discomfort would initially ascribe the pain to the most recent vigorous activity. Once it is apparent that the injury is more profound than originally assumed, the search for the underlying cause of the condition would of necessity become more intense. Regrettably, the employee's lack of reliability in this case makes the determination of the ca[u]se of his injury more difficult for everyone concerned: the physicians, the employer and the insurer, and the board. In a nutshell, I am persuaded by Dr. Brown's opinion that the employee's claim simply fits the facts better than alternate explanations. I would find the employee's attempt to move a heavy industrial dirt compactor the most likely cause of his herniated disc. As a consequence, I would find his claim compensable. Jordan appealed the Board's decision to the superior court. The superior court reversed the Board and remanded with instructions to find Jordan's claim compensable. Osborne appeals this decision.