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Ryan's Family Steakhouse v. Thomasson8/22/2002
OPINION OF THE COURT
AFFIRMING
The Court of Appeals determined that objective medical findings supported the claimant's medical diagnosis, reversed a Workers' Compensation Board (Board) decision to the contrary, and reinstated the claimant's permanent partial disability award. In doing so, the Court also rejected arguments that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) had misinterpreted the terms "traumatic event" and "proximate cause" when construing KRS 342.001 l(1). Although the employer maintains that the Court erred with respect to all three issues, we have concluded that the decision was proper and, therefore, we affirm.
The claimant's duties as a restaurant worker included baking, cooking, cleaning, and stocking. She testified that after working a double shift on February I, 1999, she cleaned the kitchen. While doing so, she scrubbed the underside of a shelf that was high above the food preparation table. This required her to lean over the table, twist her head and neck backward in order to see what she was doing and extend her right arm upward while scrubbing. The task took about an hour. The next morning she awoke with severe pain and stiffness in her neck and was barely able to turn her head. She testified that she reported her symptoms to her supervisor and that although she worked her usual shift that day, she was unable to return to work thereafter. Her supervisor testified, however, that she did not inform him of the incident until February 24, 1999.
As of February 8, 1999, the pain had not subsided, so the claimant visited her family physician and was referred to Dr. Eggers, a neurosurgeon. On March 9, 1999, Dr. Eggers noted a restricted range of motion in the neck and pain in the right neck and trapezius that he viewed as musculoligamentous in origin. He found nothing to suggest radiculopathy. At a follow-up on April 26, 1999, Dr. Eggers noted a full range of motion in the neck but also noted that when the claimant relaxed, her right shoulder drooped. Unsure of the significance of this, he indicated that if the pain persisted, an orthopedic consultation might be helpful.
On March 23, 1999, the claimant saw Dr. Liebenauer, a chiropractor and described, in detail, the types of physical activities that her work required. She related a medical history that included having experienced "cricks" in her neck that were not severe, an automobile accident that occurred 26 years before, and the recent incident at work. She also reported that she had been told that her C5 vertebra was congenitally deformed. Dr. Liebenauer conducted an extensive physical examination and a number of tests, noting a kyphotic alignment, cervical paraspinal spasms, trigger points, limited cervical range of motion, and reduced grip strength. She diagnosed acute spasmodic torticollis, possible cervical disc herniation or rupture, or thoracic outlet syndrome. When chiropractic treatment failed to relieve the claimant's symptoms, Dr. Liebenauer referred her to Dr. Kern, a neurosurgeon.
Dr. Kern noted a history of neck pain since February, 1999, which he attributed to repetitive motion at work. He ordered an MRI, the results of which indicated cervical kyphosis at C3-4 but no herniated discs. He observed that the claimant's right bicep reflex was decreased and thought that she might have C6 radiculopathy. Although he recommended a cervical myelogram, the test was not performed. He did not consider the claimant to be a surgical candidate.
Dr. Liebenauer then referred the claimant to Dr. Olson, a neurologist who specialized in movement disorders. Dr. Olson took the claimant's history and reviewed her medical records, noting that the extensive records from
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