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Rimcor12/6/2000
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
AFFIRMED
Appellee, Albert Broach, suffered an admittedly compensable injury on April 24, 1997, when a scaffolding collapsed, and he fell approximately twenty-five feet to the ground, almost severing his right foot at the ankle. Dr. Stephen Heim performed surgery to repair the ankle and placed an external fixation device to hold the ankle while it healed. On July 10, 1997, the fixation device was surgically removed. Appellee eventually underwent surgery to fuse his ankle, which left his right leg shorter than his left leg. Appellant was required to use a walker, crutches, and a cane while learning to ambulate, and now walks with an abnormal gait.
Dr. Heim opined that appellee reached maximum medical improvement on October 21, 1998, and assigned appellee a fifty-three percent impairment to the foot and a thirty-seven percent impairment to the lower extremity, which converted to a fifteen-percent impairment to the body as a whole. Appellant has paid these benefits without question. Dr. Heim also placed restrictions on appellee, limiting any work to a sedentary job with periods of standing no longer than ten to fifteen minutes at a time, and walking on a smooth surface for no more than several hundred feet at a time.
As early as June 1997 appellee began experiencing back pain, which was treated by physical therapist Wayne Chaddock. In July 1998, appellee again experienced problems with his lower back, and Dr. Heim recommended further physical therapy and ordered x-rays, which showed minimal degenerative facet joint change at the L5 level on the left, but with the vertebral height, disc space heights, and posterior alignment preserved. Appellee continued to experience back pain, and on December 16, 1998, Dr. Heim referred him to Dr. John Swicegood, a pain management specialist, for treatment. Dr. Swicegood treated appellee with epidural steroid injections. An MRI performed at the behest of Dr. Swicegood in March 1999 indicated that appellee's condition had worsened since July 1998, and revealed a narrowing of the disc space at L5-S1. When appellee failed to obtain relief from the steroid injections, Dr. Swicegood referred him to Dr. Michael Standefer, a neurosurgeon. Dr. Standefer examined appellee on April 13, 1999, and stated that he suspected that appellee's back pain at the L5-S1 level was related to the stresses and strains imposed upon the lower back by the trauma from the compensable injury ; however, he wanted to perform further tests on appellee.
Appellee attributed his back problems to his compensable ankle injury , and he sought to have appellant pay his expenses associated with medical treatment for his back as well as temporary total disability from December 17, 1998, until a date yet to be determined. Appellant disputed liability for these expenses. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that appellee's lower back condition was attributable to his compensable ankle injury, that appellee's medical expenses for his lower back were reasonable and necessary, and that appellant was liable for those medical expenses. The ALJ also found that appellee was temporarily totally disabled as a result of his lower back condition for a period beginning December 17, 1998, and continuing until a date yet to be determined. The Workers' Compensation Commission affirmed and adopted the ALJ's opinion. Appellant now appeals, arguing that there is not substantial evidence to support the Commission's decision. We affirm.
On appeal, the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the findings of the Commission and is given its strongest probative value in favor of the Commission's decision. Barrett v. Arkansas Rehabil
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