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Salas v. General Chemical6/26/2003
In May 1999, General Chemical employed appellant, Ernest Salas (Salas), as a shuttle car operator in its trona mine. On May 3rd, Salas was injured when a slab fell from the side of the mine, "rolled" him to the ground, and pinned him there. Following a contested case hearing, the hearing examiner found that the accident materially aggravated the pre-existing degenerative condition in Salas' right knee. The district court reversed the hearing examiner's determination, and Salas appeals the district court's decision to this Court. We reverse.
ISSUES
Salas phrases the issue on appeal as follows:
Was the Hearing Examiner's decision awarding benefits supported by substantial evidence?
General Chemical phrases the issue in substantially the same manner.
FACTS
In 1997, Salas underwent a right knee arthroscopy that revealed
a torn meniscus which had been present on the medial side for some time and that torn meniscus was removed. The actual joint itself looked pretty good.
...
... The right knee will be sore for a considerable time from the removal of the medial meniscus but eventually should be a reasonably good knee.
In May 1998, Salas reportedly experienced right knee pain for a two-week period, and a doctor aspirated fluid from the knee. During a November 1998 physical, another doctor noted the "persistence of right knee pain along the medial aspect," and " robable degenerative arthritis of the knees." In a follow-up visit one month later, the same doctor noted that Salas' "knees feel much better with [medication.]"
On May 3, 1999, General Chemical employed Salas as a shuttle car operator in its trona mine near Green River. That day, a four-to five-hundred pound slab fell from the side of the mine, "rolled" Salas to the ground, and pinned him there. The hearing examiner found that Salas was "pinned to the ground, by the slab, in a crouching position, with his left leg stretched out behind him, his weight being applied to his right knee." Salas stated that when he was pinned beneath the slab, his right knee ultimately folded underneath him. He demonstrated the position of his body for the hearing examiner, and it appeared from the demonstration that Salas' right knee was "bent at an angle and his body kind of twisted to the right side."
Salas reportedly suffered abrasions to his left shoulder, left elbow, and right knee. After a break, Salas returned to work and did not immediately suffer pain in his right knee, but noted that his "adrenaline was pumping pretty good." Salas testified that he experienced "a clicking" in his right knee in June 1999. Within a "month or two" after the accident, Salas stated that he also experienced a "new," "constant pain" on the inside of his right knee to a degree that when walking, "something would be aggravating knee to where it was painful to walk anymore." Salas claimed that while he previously had experienced soreness in the knee, he had never experienced this kind of "constant" pain whenever his knee would "open or close," and felt that the May 3rd accident "had aggravated it." A co-worker noticed that between May and November 1999, Salas "was having a hard time walking and his gait had changed quite a bit."
In October 1999, Salas consulted Dr. Thomas Bienz, an orthopedic surgeon, who noted that Salas had reportedly experienced "repeat knee pain, increased swelling and some popping on the medial side" since the May 1999 accident, and the pain was "progressively getting worse." According to Dr. Bienz, x-rays revealed "significant degeneration in the medial compartment" and "extensive medial
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