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HAPNEY v. RHEEM MANUFACTURING COMPANY6/8/2000
Appellant Renate Hapney appeals the decision of the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission denying her claim for benefits for a ruptured cervical disc from her employer, Appellee Rheem Manufacturing Company. The Commission found that Mrs. Hapney had failed to meet her burden of proof that she suffered a compensable injury. The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed the Commission's decision, by a tie vote, in Hapney v. Rheem Mfg. Co., 67 Ark. App. 8, 992 S.W.2d 151 (1999). We granted Mrs. Hapney's petition for review of that decision pursuant to Ark.Sup.Ct.R. 1-2(e)(i). When we grant review following a decision by the court of appeals, we review the case as though it had been originally filed with this court. White v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., 339 Ark. 474, 6 S.W.3d 98 (1999).
Standard of Review
In appeals involving claims for workers' compensation, we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the Commission's decision and affirm the decision if it is supported by substantial evidence. Id.; Burlington Indus. v. Pickett, 336 Ark. 515, 988 S.W.2d 3 (1999). Substantial evidence is evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Williams v. Prostaff Temps., 336 Ark. 510, 988 S.W.2d 1 (1999). There may be substantial evidence to support the Commission's decision even though we might have reached a different conclusion if we had sat as the trier of fact or heard the case de novo. Brower Mfc. Co. v. Willis, 252 Ark. 755, 480 S.W.2d 950 (1972). We will not reverse the Commission's decision unless we are convinced that fair-minded persons with the same facts before them could not have reached the conclusions arrived at by the Commission. White, 339 Ark. 474, 6 S.W.3d 98.
Facts
The record reflects that Mrs. Hapney has been employed by Rheem since 1984, where she primarily worked as a press operator. On Friday, February 2, 1996, Mrs. Hapney was transferred to an assembly line and given new job duties that required her to attach two metal plates to air conditioning units. Specifically, these duties consisted of using an orr to line up the screw holes and then using a
screw gun to place six screws in each unit. In order to complete her assigned task, Mrs. Hapney stated that she had to bend down six times and turn her neck a little when attaching the plates to each unit. Mrs. Hapney worked a nine-hour shift on that day and assembled a total of 316 units. According to her calculations, Mrs. Hapney would have bent down over 1,800 times that day.
Mrs. Hapney testified that while performing her job duties, her neck and right arm began to hurt, but that she was able to complete her shift. According to Mrs. Hapney, the pain progressively worsened, and eventually she was unable to move her head. She also reported experiencing numbness in her right arm. Mrs. Hapney reported to Dr. Carson, Rheem's company doctor, on Monday February 5, 1996: Dr. Carson put her on restriction or light work, but then completely took her off work on February 13. Mrs. Hapney remained off work until September 3, 1996.
Mrs. Hapney was referred to the Holt Krock Clinic on February 15 where she was examined by Dr. William Sherrill. Dr. Sherrill ordered a cervical MRI on March 29, and it revealed disc herniation at C5-6 and some protrusion at C6-7 resulting in spinal stenosis. Thereafter, Dr. Sherrill arranged for Mrs. Hapney to see a neurosurgeon, Dr. Luis Cesar. Dr. Cesar recommended that Mrs. Hapney undergo an anterior cervical fusion at C5-6. In a letter dated October 11, 1996, Dr. Cesar reported that to the best of his knowledge the major cause of Mrs. Hapney's problem was the February 2 injury. This opinion refuted Dr. Cesar's earlier
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