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State11/19/2004
2, the Division issued its final determination letter to Parrish informing him that it could not approve payment of benefits. In that letter, the Division also informed Parrish that Excal had objected to Parrish's injury report. The Division also listed several statute-based reasons for its final determination, including " ny injury or condition pre-existing at the time of employment with the employer against whom a claim is made." Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-102(a)(xi)(F). On May 22, 2002, Parrish objected to the Division's final determination and requested a contested case hearing.
[ ] A hearing before the OAH was conducted on October 28, 2002. Both Parrish and the Division presented evidence and argument; Excal did not participate. On November 27, 2002, OAH delivered its decision and entered an order in Parrish's favor. That order set out findings of fact and conclusions of law. Paragraphs two through five of the findings of fact contain many, but not all of the facts which we have recounted above. Paragraphs six and seven of the findings of fact read:
6. Dr. Dacre stated that Parrish had an injury which occurred over a period of time. It is her opinion that: (a) there was a direct causal connection between the injury and Parrish's work of heavy lifting; (b) the injury was a natural result of the employment; (c) the injury can be fairly traced to the employment as a proximate cause; (d) the injury does not come from a hazard to which Parrish would have been equally exposed to outside work; and (e) the injury is incidental to the work and not independent of the work relationship.
7. The evidence establishes that Parrish's cervical and lumbosacral spine problems are not the result of a pre-existing condition, the natural aging process, or from day to day living. The medical evidence, however, establishes that Parrish['s] cervical and lumbosacral spine problems are an injury occurring over time and was caused by his heavy lifting at Excal. Since Parrish has shown that he suffers from an injury which occurred over time, the filing requirements under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-502 do not apply. The evidence establishes that Parrish filed within two months of being informed that his injury was work related, and that he has met his burden under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-503(b).
Paragraphs four and seven of the conclusions of law read:
4. Dr. Dacre stated that Parrish's cervical and lumbosacral spine problems were most likely be due to the fact of the chronic repetitive heavy work that he had done from the time of 1976 onward, as I noted under the vocational history, and his symptoms would be most consistent with chronic wear and tear to the spine. It is the opinion of Dr. Dacre that Parrish had a work injury which occurred over a period of time.
7. Parrish has met his burden and has established he suffered a work injury which occurred over a substantial period of time. The testimony of Dr. Dacre establishes each of the requirements listed in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-603(a) (Lexis 2001). As such, Parrish is entitled to benefits.
[ ] On December 23, 2002, the Division filed its petition for review with the district court; subsequently, that court affirmed the hearing examiner's order. The Division timely appealed from that decision.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
[ ] Robbins v. State ex rel. Workers' Safety and Compensation Div., 2003 Wy 29, -18, 64 P.3d 729, -18 (Wyo. 2003), identifies, once again, the applicable standard of review:
In a worker's compensation case, the claimant has the burden of proving she suffered a "compensable injury." Logue v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation D
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