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[T] Chung v. GTE Hawaiian Telephone Co.9/9/2004
hen she saw [her family physician] Dr. [Mina] Ganapathy on November 11, 1999. When she saw Dr. Cupo on April 13, 2000, she weighed 180 pounds. At the time of the evaluation with Dr. Hector, Claimant weighed 186.5 pounds and was the heaviest that she had ever been in her entire life.
Dr. Hector opined that while he could not rule out the hyperextension injury as the cause of Claimant's de Quervain's tenosynovitis, he was more inclined to attribute the condition to Claimant's weight gain, which, according to Claimant, occurred during the period immediately preceding the onset of her symptoms.
Claimant's Trial Testimony
19. Claimant testified that neither Dr. Ganapathy, nor [another treating physician, orthopedic surgeon] Dr. [James] Scoggin, has ever told her what caused her left de Quervain's tenosynovitis. According to Claimant, she told both Dr. Ganapathy and Dr. Scoggin about the nature of her work duties, but neither related her condition to her work. Claimant could not recall any physician telling her that her left de Quervain's tenosynovitis was related to her employment.
Claimant confirmed at trial that she did, in fact, hyperextend her left wrist in a telephone incident at home, and experienced shocking pain in the left wrist as a result. Claimant testified that she went back to work after the incident and her hands hurt even more. Claimant maintained, however, that her hands were hurting even before the telephone incident, but her hand symptoms worsened after the telephone incident. Claimant acknowledged that her symptoms were reduced or improved with rest.
Nature of Work Injury
20. Based on the medical evidence and the diagnosis rendered by Dr. Scoggin, Dr. Ganapathy, Dr. Cupo, and Dr. Hector, we find that the nature of the condition for which Claimant seeks compensation is left de Quervain's tenosynovitis.
21. Although Dr. Hector's clinical tests were suggestive of left carpal tunnel syndrome at the time of his evaluation, the medical records show that Claimant was not diagnosed with that condition, and did not have symptoms consistent with that condition prior to June of 2001.
Left de Quervain's Tenosynovitis Not Related to Work
22. Although the opinions of Dr. Cupo and Dr. Hector differed on the causality of Claimant's de Quervain's tenosynovitis, neither attributed the condition to Claimant's work activities.
23. Although both Dr. Ganapathy and Dr. Scoggin were aware of the nature of Claimant's work duties and her claim alleging that her work duties caused or aggravated her left wrist condition, neither proffered any opinions that Claimant's left de Quervain's tenosynovitis was, in any way, related to her employment. On the contrary, Dr. Ganapathy expressed doubt about any work connection between Claimant's left wrist symptoms and her job duties when she questioned Claimant at the November 11, 1999 visit. There is no medical opinion from any of Claimant's treating physicians to support a finding that Claimant's work duties resulted in cumulative trauma to the thumb so as to cause de Quervain's tenosynovitis.
No Aggravation of Left de Quervain's Tenosynovitis From Work
26. While there was evidence that Claimant's symptoms increased with use of her thumb at work and at home while performing activities of daily living and decreased when the offending activity was stopped and her thumb was allowed to rest, there is no medical evidence that the underlying condition of de Quervain's tenosynovitis or the course of the disease was aggravated or made worse on November 6, 1999 by Claimant's keyboarding duties at work.
27. Based on the f
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