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TUCKER v. ROBERTS-MCNUTT2/16/2000
Appellant Kevin Tucker filed a workers' compensation claim against appellee Roberts-McNutt, Inc., alleging that he sustained a work-related back injury on May 23, 1997. The Workers' Compensation Commission denied benefits pursuant to its finding that Mr. Tucker failed to prove that he suffered a compensable injury on that date. The Commission acknowledged that Mr. Tucker suffered a disc herniation; however, it specifically found that he was not a credible witness and refused to accept his version of the accident that allegedly caused the herniation. Mr. Tucker now appeals, arguing that the Commission's decision to deny benefits is not supported by substantial evidence. We agree, and we reverse and remand for an award of benefits.
When the Commission denies coverage because the claimant failed to meet his burden of proof, the substantial-evidence standard of review requires us to affirm the Commission's decision if its opinion displays a substantial basis for the denial of relief.
McMillan v. U.S. Motors, 59 Ark. App. 85, 953 S.W.2d 907 (1997). In determining the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings of the Commission, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commission's findings and affirm if they are supported by substantial evidence. Weldon v. Pierce Bros. Constr., 54 Ark. App. 344, 925 S.W.2d 179 (1996). Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. City of Fort Smith v. Brooks, 40 Ark. App. 120, 842 S.W.2d 463 (1992). The question is not whether the evidence would have supported findings contrary to the ones made by the Commission; there may be substantial evidence to support the Commission's decision even though we might have reached a different conclusion if we sat as the trier of fact or heard the case de novo. Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Disheroon, 26 Ark. App. 145, 761 S.W.2d 617 (1998). However, while the Commission's findings are insulated to a certain degree from appellate review, its decisions are not, and should not be, so insulated that it would make appellate review meaningless. Lloyd v. United Parcel Service, 69 Ark. App. 92, 9 S.W.3d 564 (February 2, 2000); and see Patterson v. Lay, Inc., 66 Ark. App. 159, 992 S.W.2d 130 (1999).
At the hearing before the Commission, Mr. Tucker testified on his own behalf. He stated that he began working for the appellee, a waterproofing and roofing company, on January 3, 1995. Since that time, Mr. Tucker recalled experiencing problems with his back, and he gave an account of a specific, traumatic event that occurred on May 23, 1997. According to Mr. Tucker, at about 11:00 a.m. that day he was standing on top of some scaffolding they were erecting and he was pulling another section of scaffolding up with a rope. The section being hoisted caught on the scaffolding below, at which time he "pulled back out."
After hurting his back, Mr. Tucker came down from the scaffolding and continued working for twenty minutes until it was time for lunch. Mr. Tucker testified, "At lunch time I talked to my supervisor Wayne Lavender, and I told him that I tore up my back pulling the scaffolding and that I am going to the clinic." Mr. Tucker then proceeded to the Little Rock Medical Clinic and visited Dr. Thomas Jackson. During the visit, Dr. Jackson diagnosed a bilateral recurrent lumbar strain and administered an injection. After the three-day Memorial Day weekend, Mr. Tucker returned to work with lifting and bending restrictions.
According to Mr. Tucker, he returned to work full-time but experienced pain in his back and shooting down his legs. He stated that, pursuant to his medical restrictions, he stayed on the ground off the s
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