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Hawkeye Wood Shavings12/8/2004
In this workers' compensation action an employer appeals from the district court ruling that affirmed the decision of the workers' compensation commissioner. AFFIRMED.
Hawkeye Wood Shavings, Inc. (Hawkeye), a trucking company, and its workers' compensation insurer, Great West Casualty Company (Great West), appeal from a district court ruling that affirmed a decision of the workers' compensation commissioner. The decision awarded James Parrish, an employee of Hawkeye, permanent partial disability and penalty benefits. Upon review, we agree with the district court that the agency decision should be upheld.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
James Parrish, fifty-nine years old at the time of his administrative hearing, works as a dispatcher for Hawkeye. His job requires him to locate and secure loads to be hauled by the company's drivers. Parrish has held this position since 1990, and has worked as a dispatcher, for various companies, since 1975. Prior to 1975, Parrish performed manual labor. He has a high school degree, but no other formalized education or specialized training.
Although Parrish's previous dispatching jobs required physical exertion and extended periods of standing, Parrish's job at Hawkeye is sedentary. During each workday he spends approximately three to four hours on the telephone, speaking with drivers and writing down information. He also spends a significant amount of time at his desk writing up orders, and generally eats his lunch and takes his breaks at his desk. He is, however, free to stand up, move around, and leave the office area, and frequently does so. For the first ten years of his employment, Parrish worked between twelve and thirteen hours per day five days per week, and an additional seven hours on Saturday. Beginning in 2000, Hawkeye reduced Parrish's schedule to eleven to twelve hours per day five days per week, and eliminated his Saturday shift. The reduction was a purely economic decision.
In September 1999 Parrish began to experience right hip/buttock pain. He sought treatment from his personal physician, Dr. Gregory Peterson. After the pain grew more severe, and began radiating down Parrish's right leg and into his foot, Dr. Peterson ordered an MRI. The March 2000 MRI revealed both a degenerative disk condition as well as a disk herniation. Dr. Peterson referred Parrish to neurosurgeon Douglas Koontz. The consultation narrative from Parrish's initial April 2000 visit to Dr. Koontz's office recommended conservative treatment, including a selective nerve root block. Nothing in the medical records from April and May 2000 indicates a connection between Parrish's condition, and his employment at Hawkeye.
Parrish underwent the nerve block, and the conservative treatment initially provided him relief. His pain eventually returned, however, and increased in severity. Dr. Koontz recommended surgery. Other than some minimal time related to doctors' visits and testing, Parrish had not yet missed work due to his condition. Parrish spoke with Hawkeye's president, Frank Sloan, and arranged to take vacation during the time of his surgery, hospitalization, and initial recuperation. Parrish initially informed Sloan his back condition was not work related.
Dr. Koontz performed surgery on September 19, 2000. During the discharge conference on September 22 Dr. Koontz informed Parrish he could not return to work in a couple of weeks, as Parrish had hoped; rather he would need to be off of work eight to twelve weeks. Dr. Koontz also informed Parrish that the years of prolonged sitting at Hawkeye had caused or contributed to his degenerative disk condition. Parrish called Sloan on or about September 25 and
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