Opinion ID: 2357344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Dr Williams' IME Report

Text: [¶ 19] The appellant claims that Dr. Williams' findings are unhelpful because he never opines whether the appellant required further treatment for his injury, but only that The Division is not responsible for further treatment.... The appellant asserts that this statement does not indicate that his condition had stabilized, but instead that he required further treatment, and that the Division was not responsible to pay for it. Additionally, the appellant asserts that because Dr. Williams did not testify at the hearing, the IME report is nothing more than unsubstantiated and unsupported hearsay and should not have been admitted into evidence. The appellant contends that without Dr. Williams' IME report, the Commission's conclusions are not supported by substantial evidence. [¶ 20] We disagree with the appellant's characterization of the opinions expressed in Dr. Williams' IME report. In his report, Dr. Williams was responding to specific interrogatives posed him by the Division. Dr. Williams was not asked to opine on the necessity of future treatment for the appellant's back pain generally, but specifically whether lumbar surgery was necessary and whether further treatment related to the work injury was necessary. Based on his review of the medical records and examination of the appellant, Dr. Williams determined that although the appellant sustained work-related acute back and right leg pain on January 2, 2007, he could see no direct causal relationship for the need for a lumbar fusion and the work injury of January 2, 2007. Dr. Williams also opined that the Division should not be responsible for further treatment related to the incident of January 2, 2007. Given the limited nature of the purpose of his examination, and the appellant's medical history involving back problems and continuing subjective reports of pain, it is not surprising that Dr. Williams did not comment on whether the appellant would, or would not, need additional treatment for unspecified future back problems. While he did not say whether the appellant would require some future treatment, Dr. Williams did, unequivocally, state that the Division was not responsible for further treatment. [¶ 21] Regarding the appellant's claim that Dr. Williams' report was inadmissible hearsay, we have said: Admissibility of evidence is committed to the discretion of the hearing examiner. A hearing examiner abuses his discretion when his decision shocks the conscience of the court and appears to be so unfair and inequitable that a reasonable person could not abide it. Goddard v. Colonel Bozeman's Rest., 914 P.2d 1233, 1238 (Wyo.1996) (citations omitted). [A]dministrative agencies acting in a judicial or quasi judicial capacity are not bound by technical rules of evidence that govern trials by courts or juries, and it is usually held that evidence will not be excluded merely because it is hearsay. Where hearsay evidence is by statute admissible in administrative proceedings, it is often held that it must be probative, trustworthy and credible; and, although it may not be the sole basis for establishing an essential fact and is insufficient to support an administrative decision, it may be considered as corroborative of facts otherwise established. Gray v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div., 2008 WY 115, ¶ 18, 193 P.3d 246, 252 (Wyo.2008) (quoting Story v. Wyo. State Bd. of Med. Exam'rs, 721 P.2d 1013, 1018 (Wyo.1986)) (citations omitted). [¶ 22] Given the relaxed status of the rules of evidence in administrative proceedings, we find that the Commission did not abuse its discretion in admitting the IME report into evidence. In doing so, we note that the appellant did not object to the admission of Dr. Williams' IME report at the contested case hearing; therefore, this issue is raised for the first time in this appeal. It is well established that issues not raised in an administrative action may not be considered for the first time on appeal. We have recognized in more than a few decisions, and Congress has recognized in more than a few statutes, that orderly procedure and good administration require that objections to the proceedings of an administrative agency be made while it has opportunity for correction in order to raise issues reviewable by the courts. Wyo. Bancorporation v. Bonham, 527 P.2d 432, 439 (Wyo.1974) (quoting United States v. L.A. Tucker Truck Lines, Inc., 344 U.S. 33, 36-37, 73 S.Ct. 67, 68-69, 97 L.Ed. 54 (1952)); see also W.R.A.P. 12.09(a) (Review shall be conducted by the reviewing court and shall be confined to the record as supplemented pursuant to Rule 12.08 and to the issues set forth in the petition and raised before the agency.).