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Authement v. Wal-Mart9/26/2003
In this case, the workers' compensation judge rendered judgment in favor of claimant, awarding workers' compensation benefits, penalties, and attorney fees in connection with a work-related accident. Both claimant and defendant/employer have appealed from said judgment. For the reasons that follow, we reverse in part, amend, and as amended, affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On February 14, 2002, claimant, Nancy Authement, filed a disputed claim for compensation with the Office of Workers' Compensation averring entitlement to workers' compensation benefits. Ms. Authement alleged that on July 5, 2001, during the course and scope of her employment with Wal-Mart, she injured herself while she was lifting and stocking merchandise in the dairy department. According to Ms. Authement, she developed sharp pains in her shoulders while she was "down stacking" milk crates. She reported the incident to her immediate supervisor, Darla, and went back to work. Ms. Authement reported to work the following day and did more heavy lifting in the dairy department. The pain in her shoulders continued to worsen, and, on July 7, 2001, Ms. Authement began working as a cashier.
After working as a cashier for approximately one week, Ms. Authement reported the pain in her shoulders to Tina Davis, a customer service manager. Ms. Davis advised her that she should file an accident report. However, Ms. Authement decided to wait because she thought her shoulders were just sore. Thereafter, Ms. Authement started experiencing sharp pains from her neck going down her arms. She ultimately completed an "ASSOCIATE STATEMENT-WORKERS COMPENSATION" ("accident report") on July 19, 2001, indicating that "continuous lifting" was the cause of her injury .
According to the medical evidence in the record, Ms. Authement was initially seen by Dr. Troy Hutchinson on July 17, 2001, with complaints of pain in both shoulders that started following a work-related injury on July 5, 2001. Ms. Authement reported that although the pain had gotten a little better in the days after the accident, she then developed sharp pains down both arms. Dr. Hutchinson prescribed a conservative course of treatment. He also advised Ms. Authement to restrict her work to light-duty with no lifting of anything greater than 10-15 pounds. When Ms. Authement returned on July 23, 2001, she indicated that her pain had gotten a little better, but still described the pain as "sharp." Dr. Hutchinson prescribed three weeks of physical therapy. Ms. Authement attended five physical therapy sessions and did not respond to the treatment. She was last seen by Dr. Hutchinson on September 11, 2001, at which time he referred Ms. Authement to Dr. Gary Guidry, an orthopedic surgeon.
Ms. Authement first saw Dr. Guidry on September 19, 2001, at which time she complained of pain on both sides of her neck that radiated into her shoulders. She also complained of headaches and pain referring into the area between her shoulder blades. Although Ms. Authement had some mild spasm in her neck, Dr. Guidry found that she had full range of motion in her neck and a normal neurological examination. All x-rays were within normal limits, and physical examination of both shoulders was felt to be normal. Because Ms. Authement's symptoms had persisted, Dr. Guidry scheduled her for an MRI and recommended she continue with her work duties but not do any lifting.
The MRI was performed on October 2, 2001, and revealed a disc protrusion at C5 to the right of the midline. During Ms. Authement's next appointment with Dr. Guidry on October 4, 2001, he opined that Ms. Authement's disc protrusion was secondary to her job activities and recommended cervical epidu
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