Court Opinion

ID: 9797323
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 04:18:22.34992+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:54:26.780414
License: Public Domain

ADAMS, J.:
concurring by reason of stare decisis.
" 1 I agree that as to his back claim Claimant's testimony contains no inherent probabilities or contradictions and that the record otherwise contains no evidence of other circumstances which would justify an inference that Claimant's testimony is false. Accordingly, I am forced to conclude under Hughes v. Cole Grain Co., 1998 OK 76, 964 P.2d 206, and more recently what might be characterized as dicta in Tolbert v. Eastern Contracting, Inc., 1999 OK 23, 978 P.2d 358 that the Workers' Compensation Court was not free to find Claimant's evidence insufficient to sustain his burden of persuasion concerning his back claim.
12 Hughes concluded that the Workers' Compensation Court was required to award benefits to a claimant who had testified, without contradiction, to the facts of an on-the-job injury that she had immediately reported to her supervisor. Ms. Hughes also presented unchallenged medical evidence that her injury was work-related. The Court apparently concluded the trial judge was not free to deny Hughes' claim because her testimony was not believed. In Tolbert, the Court held the record contained sufficient evidence to support the trial court's conclusion that the claimant's testimony was not credible. However, the Court went on to state that "a finding that a claimant was 'not a credible witness' in the absence of record evidence to support it would call for reversal." Tolbert, 1999 OK 23, ¶ 19, 978 P.2d 358, ¶ 19. As I have noted previously, I am of the opinion that we are bound by dicte in Oklahoma Supreme Court opinions which directly addresses the issue presented to us.
T3 As a former trial judge who sat as a factfinder in cases covering a wide range of issues, I am painfully aware that individuals in our system charged with determining facts must rely on innumerable factors in determining whether to believe testimony, many of which will not appear on the face a tran-seript of the evidence. It appears that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has concluded that factfinders in workers' compensation cases are not free to do so, at least where they make no specific reference to those factors on the record.
1 4 Were it not for Hughes and Tolbert, I would dissent to that portion of the majority opinion which vacates the order denying Claimant's back injury claim. However, I am bound to follow the law and must concur in that decision by reason of stare decisis.