Court Opinion

ID: 9385966
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-10 21:10:35.246782+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:03.512274
License: Public Domain

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF WEST VIRGINIA

                                                                               FILED
WISEMAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC.,
Employer Below, Petitioner                                                  April 10, 2023
                                                                          EDYTHE NASH GAISER, CLERK
                                                                        INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
vs.)   No. 22-ICA-317       (JCN: 2022016571)                                  OF WEST VIRGINIA

KEVIN C. HODGE,
Claimant Below, Respondent

                             MEMORANDUM DECISION

        Petitioner Wiseman Construction Company, Inc. (“Wiseman”) appeals the decision
of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review (“Board”) dated December 8, 2022,
modifying the claim administrator’s order and ruling that the claim was compensable for
lumbar radiculopathy. Respondent Kevin C. Hodge timely filed a response.1 Wiseman did
not file a reply.

       This Court has jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to West Virginia Code § 51-
11-4 (2022). After considering the parties’ arguments, the record on appeal, and the
applicable law, this Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For
these reasons, a memorandum decision affirming the Board’s order is appropriate under
Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

       On January 21, 2022, Mr. Hodge, a carpenter’s apprentice and employee of
Wiseman, was seen at Cabin Creek Health Systems for injuries he reported were sustained
when he fell at work about two and one-half months earlier. Ashley Portz, PA-C, examined
Mr. Hodge and noted that he fell thirteen to sixteen feet from a roof onto his tailbone and
was experiencing worsening low back pain radiating to his right hip, and upper back pain
radiating to his right scapula. Ms. Portz assessed Mr. Hodge with low back pain, lumbar
radiculopathy, and thoracic back pain.

       On January 27, 2022, Ms. Portz and Mr. Hodge completed an Employee’s and
Physicians’ Report of Injury form. Mr. Hodge asserted that on November 2, 2021, he
suffered a workplace injury involving his low back, middle back, hip, and thigh. Also, Mr.
Hodge reported that he stopped working due to being laid off in December of 2021. Ms.
Portz described the injury as lumbar radiculopathy, and also noted injuries to Mr. Hodge’s
middle back, lower back, right hip, and right thigh that were a direct result of an
occupational injury.

       1
       Wiseman is represented by Jillian L. Moore, Esq. and Steven K. Wellman, Esq.
Mr. Hodge is represented by G. Patrick Jacobs, Esq.
                                             1
       Randall Short, D.O., issued a Physician Review dated February 15, 2022, in which
he opined that the alleged work injury on November 2, 2021, was not supported by the
medical records. Dr. Short focused on what he felt was a failure to timely report the injury
to the employer or a medical provider. On February 18, 2022, the claim administrator
rejected the claim finding that it did not appear that a personal injury was sustained.
However, the claim administrator authorized payment of Mr. Hodge’s medical expenses
associated with the evaluation of the reported event. Mr. Hodge protested the order to the
Board.

        In May of 2022, Mr. Hodge testified via deposition that he was injured on November
2, 2021, while working for Wiseman. According to Mr. Hodge, he stepped on a piece of
rotted sheet metal roofing and fell from one part of a roof to another, a distance of
approximately thirteen feet, landing on his tailbone and back. Mr. Hodge testified that his
union supervisor, Ryder Gray, was working on the same project and witnessed the accident.
Further, Mr. Hodge explained that he completed his shift the day of the accident and
continued to work thereafter due to fear of reprimand for filing a workers’ compensation
claim. In his testimony, he also admitted that no accident report was completed on that day,
but he noted that a report was completed around January 4, 2022. Mr. Hodge asserted that
he first saw a doctor in late January of 2022, and he testified that he experienced pain,
swelling, and numbness after the injury. Mr. Hodge further acknowledged that he was laid
off in December of 2021 due to a lack of work.

        Nikki Wiseman-Sydnor, the secretary/treasurer for Wiseman, signed an affidavit in
August of 2022 stating that Mr. Hodge did not report an injury to his supervisor or any
member of management on November 2, 2021. She further averred that after the alleged
injury, Mr. Hodge continued to perform all assigned duties until he was laid off in
December of 2021. Subsequently, Ms. Wiseman-Sydnor authored a second affidavit
clarifying that in early January of 2022, Mr. Gray mentioned Mr. Hodge’s alleged accident
whereupon Mr. Gray was informed that an incident report was required. Ms. Wiseman-
Sydnor further noted that she provided Mr. Hodge with low earnings slips through January
of 2022, and that he was aware that the slips were only available if he was willing and able
to work.

        Text messages between Mr. Hodge and Mr. Gray dated January 6, 2022, reflect
conversations about whether an accident report had been completed. Mr. Gray indicated
that he believed the accident had occurred on November 2, 2021. In an incident report
dated November 2, 2021, Mr. Gray reported that Mr. Hodge suffered back pain after falling
off a roof on November 2, 2021.2

       2
           Mr. Hodge testified that this report was not completed until January of 2022.

                                               2
        On December 8, 2022, the Board reversed the claim administrator’s order and held
Mr. Hodge’s claim compensable for lumbar radiculopathy. The Board relied upon Mr.
Hodge’s deposition, the text messages between Mr. Hodge and Mr. Gray, and the injury
report. The Board noted that West Virginia Code § 23-4-1c(a)(2)(B) (2009)3 required it to
consider whether a notice of layoff was given within sixty days of the filing of the claim
and that West Virginia Code of State Rules § 85-1-3.1 (2009)4 required the prompt
reporting of work injuries. However, the Board found that neither the statute nor the rule
precluded a finding of compensability when the evidence established the credibility of the
claim. The Board found that Mr. Hodge fell from one part of a roof to another while

      3
          West Virginia Code § 23-4-1c(a) provides, in part, as follows:

             (2) In making a determination regarding the compensability of a newly filed
      claim . . . the Insurance Commissioner, private carrier or self-insured employer,
      whichever is applicable, shall consider the date of the filing of the claim for benefits
      for a determination of the following:
             ...
                     (B) Whether the claimant received notice within sixty days of the
             filing that his or her employment position was to be eliminated, including,
             but not limited to, the claimant’s worksite, a layoff or the elimination of the
             claimant’s employment position;
             ...
                     (D) In the event of an affirmative finding upon any of these four
             factors, the finding shall be given probative weight in the overall
             determination of the compensability of the claim or of the merits of the
             reopening request.
      4
          West Virginia Code of State Rules § 85-1-3.1 provides, in part, as follows:

             Immediately after sustaining an occupational injury, a claimant should
      1) seek necessary medical care; 2) immediately on the occurrence of the
      injury or as soon as practicable thereafter give or cause to be given to the
      employer or any of the employer’s agents a written notice of the occurrence
      of the injury; and 3) file a workers’ compensation claim … Failure to
      immediately give notice to the employer of the injury weighs against a
      finding of compensability in the weighing of the evidence mandated by W.
      Va. Code § 23-4-1g and dilutes the credibility and reliability of the claim.
      Notice provided to the employer within two (2) working days of the injury
      shall be deemed immediate notice: Provided, That under no circumstances
      shall the fact that notice of an occupational injury was provided by the
      claimant later than two (2) working days from the time of the injury be the
      sole basis for denial of a claim.

                                              3
working for Wiseman on November 2, 2021, and sustained an injury for which he timely
filed a workers’ compensation claim.5 Wiseman now appeals. By order entered on January
27, 2023, this Court granted Wiseman’s motion to stay the Board’s order pending the
outcome of this appeal.

        Our standard of review is set forth in West Virginia Code § 23-5-12a(b) (2022), in
part, as follows:

      The Intermediate Court of Appeals may affirm the order or decision of the
      Workers’ Compensation Board of Review or remand the case for further
      proceedings. It shall reverse, vacate, or modify the order or decision of the
      Workers’ Compensation Board of Review, if the substantial rights of the
      petitioner or petitioners have been prejudiced because the Board of Review’s
      findings are:
      (1) In violation of statutory provisions;
      (2) In excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the Board of Review;
      (3) Made upon unlawful procedures;
      (4) Affected by other error of law;
      (5) Clearly wrong in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence
      on the whole record; or
      (6) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly
      unwarranted exercise of discretion.

Duff v. Kanawha Cnty. Comm’n, No. 22-ICA-10, __ W. Va. __, __, 882 S.E.2d 916, 921
(Ct. App. 2022).
        On appeal, Wiseman argues that the Board failed to give the statutorily required
probative weight to the fact that Mr. Hodge did not file a workers’ compensation claim
until after he was laid off from work. Further, Wiseman argues that the Board failed to
afford any weight to Mr. Hodge’s failure to comply with the requirement in West Virginia
Code of State Rules § 85-1-3.1 to seek medical care and notify the employer immediately.
Moreover, Wiseman argued that Mr. Hodge continued to receive low earning slips from
the employer, which were only available if he was willing and able to work. Thus, Wiseman
asserts that it was inconsistent for Mr. Hodge to allege he was unable to work due to an
injury.

        In response, Mr. Hodge asserts that the Board did not err in holding the claim
compensable. Mr. Hodge contends that the Board considered Wiseman’s arguments when
it determined an injury occurred in the course of and resulting from his employment on
November 2, 2021. Referencing his deposition testimony, Mr. Hodge argues that he did

      5
       West Virginia Code § 23-4-15(a) (2010) allows for the filing of a workers’
compensation claim up to six months after the date of the injury.
                                             4
not report the incident in November of 2021 because he was scared of being reprimanded,
a common concern among young workers, and that he tried to keep working, which should
be applauded rather than punished.

       Upon review, we find no error in the Board’s conclusions. Although the Board could
have provided more analysis in its order, it appears that the Board applied probative weight
to Mr. Hodge’s lay-off notice and weighed Mr. Hodge’s delay in seeking medical
treatment. As the Board found, neither West Virginia Code § 23-4-1c(a)(2)(B) nor West
Virginia Code of State Rules § 85-1-3.1 preclude a holding of compensability here because
the evidence established the credibility of the claim.

       Accordingly, we affirm the Board’s December 8, 2022, order and vacate the stay
granted by this Court on January 27, 2023.

                                                                                 Affirmed.

ISSUED: April 10, 2023

CONCURRED IN BY:

Chief Judge Daniel W. Greear
Judge Charles O. Lorensen

Judge Thomas E. Scarr, not participating

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