Opinion ID: 1158959
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: nelson's carpal tunnel syndrome in 1988 and 1989 was an aggravation of a preexisting condition

Text: Although the Commission found that Nelson had suffered some numbness and tingling before she began employment at Ponsness-Warren, it found on reconsideration that her condition was compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act because there is no question that [Nelson] was asymptomatic before she began working for [Ponsness-Warren] in 1989 [sic]. In our view, this finding directly conflicts with the evidence that was before the Commission, and is not justified by our prior case law. This Court will overturn the Commission's findings of fact when such findings are unsupported by substantial competent evidence. Brooks v. Standard Fire Ins. Co., 117 Idaho 1066, 1070, 793 P.2d 1238, 1242 (1990). Nelson testified that she intermittently suffered numbness and tingling in her hands between 1980 and 1989, depending in part on what types of activities she performed. The panel of physicians who examined Nelson in March of 1989 noted that Nelson had suffered varying levels of carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms for the last ten years. Finally, in its first decision, the Commission acknowledged that Nelson suffered from ongoing symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome between 1980 and 1988. Therefore, contrary to the Commission's finding in its decision on reconsideration, it is clear that Nelson's preexisting condition was not asymptomatic or dormant. The Commission also erred in ruling that the supposed latency of Nelson's preexisting condition before 1988 caused her carpal tunnel syndrome to become a new condition. Since Nelson's carpal tunnel syndrome manifested itself prior to her employment at Ponsness-Warren, it was not latent or asymptomatic. A latent or asymptomatic preexisting condition is one that has never manifested itself. See Jones v. State Industrial Special Indem. Fund, 104 Idaho 337, 338, 659 P.2d 91, 92 (1983). Furthermore, whether or not a preexisting condition was asymptomatic is irrelevant for purposes of determining an employee's compensation benefits. Rather, the latency of a preexisting condition is relevant only to the liability of the Industrial Special Indemnity Fund for any disability resulting from the preexisting condition. See Id. We therefore reverse the portions of the Commission's decision on reconsideration which conclude that Nelson's carpal tunnel syndrome was asymptomatic prior to 1988 or a new condition after 1988 constituting an occupational disease, and affirm the portion which concludes that Nelson, during her employment at Ponsness-Warren, suffered an aggravation of her preexisting condition of carpal tunnel syndrome.