Court Opinion

ID: 9640228
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 17:01:29.380814+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:28.445670
License: Public Domain

Wendell L. Griffen, Judge, dissenting. I agree that the first two points on this appeal should be affirmed (i.e., that substantial evidence supports the Workers’ Compensation Commission findings that: (1) medical treatment recommended and provided by Dr. Phillip Wright was reasonably necessary; and (2) that appellee was referred to Dr. Wright by Dr. John Woloszyn). However, I believe that the Commission should be reversed on the third point because the finding that appellee is entitled to temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for the six-week period following August 22, 1995, is not supported by substantial evidence. Because of a birth defect, Pam Garey has no fingers on her right hand. She worked for American Greetings as an order filler in the Osceola plant for five-and-a-half years before she began experiencing numbness in her left hand. That condition worsened over time, and was diagnosed as an overuse syndrome of her left hand. Surgery is not indicated based upon repeated neurological examinations and tests, but job reassignment to work that does not require chronic repetitive use of the hand was recommended by Dr. Woloszyn. That approach worked until one of appellee’s supervisors assigned her back to repetitive work which caused her symptoms to worsen. Her doctor directed that the job restrictions be followed, and that she remain off work for six weeks after appellee and her husband suggested that course of action to him. We held in Mad Butcher v. Parker, 4 Ark. App. 124, 628 S.W.2d 582 (1982), that TTD benefits are awarded only for the period of time when a worker is within her healing period and is incapable of earning wages. The healing period is that time when the body is healing and an employee is unable to perform remunerative labor with reasonable consistency without pain and discomfort. In Mad Butcher, we stated that the mere persistence of pain does not prevent a finding that the healing period has ended so long as the underlying condition has stabilized. Id. Mad Butcher requires us to reverse the Commission on two fronts. First, when Dr. Wright agreed that appellee could remain off work for six weeks beginning August 22, 1995, there was no evidence that the underlying character of her overuse condition had not stabilized. As early as February 15, 1995, Dr. Woloszyn confirmed that repeat neurological studies demonstrated no appreciable difference in appellee’s condition from what it had been a year earlier, and that she simply needed retraining for work that did not require chronic repetitive use of her hand. In an April 5, 1995, letter, Dr. Woloszyn verified that appellee was not entitled to a permanent impairment rating because there were no objective findings to support it, and that appellee’s symptoms diminish when she is assigned to different work. He then indicated that he had no additional treatment to offer. By letter dated May 21, 1995, Dr. Woloszyn agreed to work restrictions proposed by the employer and indicated that the restrictions were permanent. Thus, there is no proof that the underlying character of appellee’s condition was not stable or was in the process of improving in August 1995 when Dr. Wright directed her to take six weeks away from work. Secondly, there is no proof that appellee was totally incapacitated from earning wages during the six-week period after August 22, 1995. Aside from the previously referenced reports from Dr. Woloszyn, the record shows that appellee was working at a job that he approved when she suggested to Dr. Wright that she take six weeks off. I would reverse the award.