Opinion ID: 1880861
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the magistrate's findings

Text: The magistrate recognized that Newkirk had voluntarily paid worker's compensation benefits to plaintiff between October 1991, and March 1992, and was contesting plaintiff's disability only after March 1992. After reviewing plaintiff's testimony and that of the medical experts, the magistrate found an October 17, 1991, injury date and a continuing disability from the injury. John S. Warner, D.C., a chiropractor who began treating plaintiff before the incident with Newkirk, [4] testified that plaintiff suffered from either a compressed nerve root or a herniated disc at the L5-S1 interval. He said plaintiff should avoid bending and twisting and should lift no more than ten pounds. Chiropractor Wallace Ross examined plaintiff on February 25, 1992, pursuant to a request by CNA Insurance Company. Dr. Ross detected arthritis throughout the spine. He estimated that the condition had been present for approximately ten years. He opined that the October 17, 1991, incident could have caused muscle strain, but that the condition would have been resolved after several weeks. He said plaintiff should not lift more than thirty-five pounds, and that his condition would improve if he obeyed restrictions and performed strengthening exercises. Christopher Schaiberger, M.D., a neurologist, examined plaintiff on June 3, 1992, pursuant to a referral for a neurological examination of plaintiff's lower back and extremities. He found degenerative arthritis in the lumbar region, with spurring at L5-S1, and he expressed the opinion that these problems existed before the incident on October 17, 1991. He felt the injury could have originated with trauma or could have developed spontaneously. He recommended no bending, no twisting, and no lifting over fifty pounds without help. Harvey Andre, M.D., who examined plaintiff on March 25, 1993, found degenerative arthritis at L3 and L4-5. He said plaintiff could perform only light work and that he should avoid stooping, bending, twisting, pushing and pulling, and should lift no more than five pounds. The magistrate found plaintiff believable, his account of the accident unrebutted, and ruled that plaintiff suffered a work-related aggravation of a preexisting back condition on October 17, 1991. The magistrate explained: There is agreement between Drs. Ross and Schaiberger that plaintiff has arthritic changes in his entire spine which predated October 17, 1991. I so find. And, although Dr. Schaiberger acknowledged that plaintiff's problems stemming from his arthritis could have originated spontaneously, I find that they did not. The theory of spontaneous initiation in this case flies in the face of plaintiff's activities of October 17, 1991. To find spontaneous origin here, one would have to completely ignore plaintiff's undisputed testimony that he was banged around waist height in the bucket of a bucket truck which turned out to have had an improperly functioning master brake cylinder. Accordingly, I find the experience of October 17, 1991, combined with plaintiff's arthritic condition and resulted in his current low-back disability. All the experts agree plaintiff is disabled by arthritis and should be restricted from various activities which his job as a lineman would demand. I therefore find an injury date of October 17, 1991, and continuing disability from said injury. I do not find that work plaintiff did for Henkels & McCoy, Inc. subsequent to leaving defendant, Newkirk Electric Associates, Inc., changed plaintiff's basic underlying condition. No specific injury or occurrence was alleged. Plaintiff was carried by co-workers and could only tolerate what little work he did by taking 12 to 16 aspirins per day. He definitely was disabled when he went to work for Henkels & McCoy, Inc., but this job did not contribute to or aggravate his underlying condition. I find no July, 1992 injury date. On the basis of his findings, the magistrate awarded open-ended benefits to plaintiff.