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Whitfield v. Laboratory Corporation of America6/17/2003
room the previous day, establishing that she had been to see a doctor and she continued to have significant limitations.
16. On Monday, July 27, 1998, plaintiff reported to work and was informed by Ms. Howard that [plaintiff] had been discharged for not coming to work during the previous week. Ms. Howard testified that she did not recommend plaintiff's discharge and did not know who really made that decision. She further indicated that she did not know what the company's attendance policies were.
These findings of fact are supported by the competent evidence in the record: testimony of employer's branch manager, plaintiff, plaintiff's mother, and plaintiff's friend. Defendants' argument that the Commission erred in failing to determine that plaintiff unjustifiably refused suitable employment is without merit.
VI.
Defendants' final argument is that the Commission erred in ruling that employer is responsible for payment of medical bills that plaintiff incurred for treatment, where the treatment was not approved by employer.
Employers are required to provide medical compensation when the treatment in question is reasonably required to lessen the period of disability, effect a cure, or give relief. N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 97-2(18) and 97-25 (2001); Little v. Penn Ventilator Co., 317 N.C. 206, 210, 345 S.E.2d 204, 207 (1986). " elief from pain is a legitimate aspect of the 'relief' anticipated by future medical treatment under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-25." Simon v. Triangle Materials, Inc., 106 N.C. App. 39, 44, 415 S.E.2d 105, 108, disc. review denied, 332 N.C. 347, 421 S.E.2d 154 (1992).
There is competent evidence in the record that supports the Commission's finding that plaintiff required further medical treatment as a result of her fall on 5 June 1998. Dr. Huh testified that because of plaintiff's limited resources and lack of health insurance, plaintiff was unable (1) to see Dr. Huh as frequently as he recommended, (2) to purchase all of the medications he prescribed, and (3) to obtain diagnostic tests he prescribed, such as cervical and lumbar MRI's. Dr. Huh testified that plaintiff was experiencing real and significant levels of pain in her neck, back, and leg and that she was not exaggerating her level of pain during the period he treated her. Dr. Huh also testified that plaintiff had developed significant depression secondary to her chronic pain and that it was usually necessary to treat the depression as well as the pain in order for such a patient to obtain significant pain relief. He testified that due to plaintiff's financial inability to attend regularly scheduled appointments, plaintiff's possibility for recovery was negatively affected; however, provided plaintiff did everything Dr. Huh recommended, he believed plaintiff's prognosis for recovery was fair. This competent testimony is sufficient to support the Commission's findings that plaintiff required further medical treatment to provide relief. As stated above, employers are required to provide medical treatment when the treatment is reasonably required to lessen the period of disability, effect a cure, or give relief. Little, 317 N.C. at 210, 345 S.E.2d at 207.
Defendants argue that plaintiff is not entitled to simply shop around for a physician who will medicate subjective complaints of pain when four employer-chosen physicians were all in agreement that further treatment for plaintiff would be useless. However, this is a credibility issue for the Commission to resolve, and as discussed above, we do not disturb those findings since they are supported by competent evidence. See Hawley, 146 N.C. App. at 427, 552 S.E.2d at 272. N.C.G.S. § 97-25 allows "an injured employee
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