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[T] Chung v. GTE Hawaiian Telephone Co.9/9/2004
Katherine Sagon Chung (Claimant) appeals the July 23, 2002 decision and order of the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board (the Board) which affirmed the September 28, 2000 decision the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations (the Director) rendered in favor of Employer/Insurance Adjuster GTE Hawaiian Telephone Company, Inc./Travelers Insurance Company (collectively, the Employer). The Director had denied Claimant's workers' compensation claim for her left de Quervain's tenosynovitis, "sustained . . . on or about November 6, 1999," because "claimant's injuries are not work related."
On appeal, Claimant argues that the Board improperly shifted the burden of proof to her, and that there was not substantial evidence to rebut the presumption of compensability. We agree with Claimant, so we vacate and remand.
I. Background
In its decision and order, the Board found and concluded, in pertinent part, as follows:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Claimant was employed as a customer service representative for GTE HAWAIIAN TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC., nka Verizon Hawaii ("Employer").
2. Claimant began her career with Employer in 1976 as a directory assistance operator. Claimant transferred to customer service in 1986 or 1987, where she performed duties that involved frequent typing on a keyboard. Claimant did this job for about four years, and then in 1990 or 1991, Claimant transferred to the paging department. While in the paging department, Claimant's work involved customer contact, and some typing and/or keyboarding. After working in the paging department for about two years, Claimant, in or around 1992 or 1993, transferred to another department to do "offline" work. That work involved researching customer accounts and statistics. Offline work involved much less typing and keyboarding work.
3. In September of 1999, Claimant transferred back to customer service and more keyboarding work. Two or three months after her transfer back to customer service, Claimant complained of pain and swelling in the hands and wrists, left more than right. Claimant was right hand dominant.
4. Claimant's co-worker, Victoria Muraki, remembered Claimant complaining about her sore hands within three months of her transfer back to customer service.
5. On November 9, 1999, Claimant informed Sandy Chesemore of her hand complaints and difficulty typing because of her symptoms. Ms. Chesemore was Employer's resource person for personnel and ergonomics issues. According to Ms. Chesemore, Claimant told her that she had sore and swollen left wrist and swollen right wrist beginning November 6, 1999. Ms. Chesemore evaluated Claimant's work station and determined that her keyboard placement was slightly askew. Ms. Chesemore found no other irregularities with Claimant's work station. A request was made to have the placement of the keyboard corrected. Following her meeting with Claimant, Ms. Chesemore filed a WC-1 report of industrial injury .
Medical Opinions
16. Claimant was evaluated by Dr. Leonard Cupo, an occupational medicine specialist, on April 13, 2000. Based on Dr. Cupo's opinions and his deposition testimony, we find that de Quervain's tenosynovitis is a condition where there is inflammation of the tendons and tendon sheaths of the first dorsal compartment of the wrist. The first dorsal compartment is the area that runs on the top thumb side of the wrist. Inflammation of the covering of the tendon sheaths in this area can cause pain when you move the thumb.
De Quervain's tenosynovitis can be caused by cumulative or repetitive movements or trauma of the thumb, acute trauma to the first
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