Fort James Operating Co. v. Crump12/17/2004
Q: And, we know that after March 25th, Ms. Crump was able to return to work, full duty.
"A: I understand that she went back to work.
"Q: But, subsequent to the November injury, she wasn't able to resume full duty and go back to work for more than a couple days, I believe she said.
"A: I don't believe she ever went back to consistent work after that time.
"Q: Wouldn't that lead you to believe that it was the November injury that caused her disability, and not the March injury?
"A: I just don't know that they're separable, Mr. Moore. Had it not been for March, there may not have been a November. I just have no way of knowing. It seems more likely to me that she suffered the initial disc injury on March 25th, and that whatever happened after that was an exacerbation, thereof.
"Q: Let's assume that that's the case for this question. Wouldn't the exacerbation that occurred in November of 1998, be the reason that she's off work?
"A: That would have been the cause of her vocational disability, yes. But, not necessarily the cause of her medical disability.
"Q: Sure. A disc can herniate, and it can compress back in, like you said --
"A: Right. It can realign, and it can remain that way for long periods of time. There have been cases documented where there's an acute disc herniation, a realignment of the disc, fibrosis that occurs that scars it and actually retains the disc in place. And, then during some subsequent activity, could be work, could be a sneeze, could be intercourse, could be a cough, could be a bowel movement, that some type of motion leaves that vulnerable disc to herniate laterally and compress the nerve root.
"....
"But, I still believe that the event that prompted the work-up and the surgery was March of '98, and not November of '98. I can say to you that the vocational disability, by clear facts, resulted in November, 1998. But, I'm not nearly so convinced that the medical disability occurred then. I think the medical disability actually occurred earlier.
"Q: ... You believe she herniated her disc on March 25th, 1998, and that for a period of time after that, very shortly after, she had some pain radiating into her right thigh as a result of that herniated disc; is that correct?
"A: That is correct. That's what I believe. And, by virtue of compression of the right L5 nerve root, perhaps the L4 nerve root, either which pass right by the L4-L5 disc.
"Q: And, you believe that this herniated disc at some point after March 31st, must have realigned itself, because she didn't continue to have those same symptoms?
"A: That's correct. ...
"....
"Q: And, there are cases where people have realigned herniated discs that, after that period of light duty or whatever, bed rest, medication, or whatever, they resume their normal duties and they go for the rest of their life without having any back problems whatsoever.
"A: That is true.
"Q: But, in the case of Ms. Crump, it's your opinion that, as a result of this later incident of lifting activity that she was doing at work, she wasn't one of those lucky ones that kept right on going with no problems. Her herniated disc that had realigned, now became misaligned --
"A: Actually fragmented. Not just misaligned, but actually fragmented, and several fragments of disc were found up in the canal and up against nerve roots. So, there were several pieces of disc. So, it was a sequence of events that may have led to fragmentation. If she were, indeed, back to work after April of 1998, and if, in fact,
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