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GEO SPECIALTY CHEMICAL v. CLINGAN3/22/2000
In this appeal from the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission, appellant challenges the award of additional medical benefits to appellee. We affirm.
On February 28, 1994, appellee fell from a dump truck while in appellant's employ and broke his hip. The accident also caused injury to his leg and back. Appellee had a history of back problems dating to 1985. He had undergone surgery to his back in 1993. Following a hearing that took place in December 1995 and in January 1996, the Commission determined that appellant had suffered a compensable injury to his hip and leg and a compensable aggravation of his preexisting back condition. The Commission awarded temporary total disability and authorized a neurological examination to determine whether the 1994 injury caused nerve damage to his left leg or foot. It awarded no further medical benefits.
In 1998, appellee again petitioned for additional medical benefits. In support of his claim, appellee introduced into evidence two notes from his treating physician, Dr. Philip Johnson, written in 1997, stating appellee was having recurring back symptoms related to his 1994 fall and was in need of pain management. Appellee also introduced the nerve-conduction study performed on April 24,
1997, which revealed peripheral neuropathy. The administrative law judge awarded additional medical benefits and the full Commission affirmed. This appeal follows.
When reviewing a decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom in the light most favorable to the findings of the Commission and affirm that decision if it is supported by substantial evidence. Clark v. Peabody Testing Serv., 265 Ark. 489, 597 S.W.2d 360 (1979). The issue is not whether we might have reached a different result or whether the evidence would have supported a contrary finding; if reasonable minds could reach the Commission's conclusion, we must affirm its decision. Bearden Lumber Co. v. Bond, 7 Ark. App. 65, 644 S.W.2d 321 (1983). The Commission has the duty of weighing medical evidence and, if the evidence is conflicting, its resolution is a question of fact for the Commission. Whaley v. Hardee's, 51 Ark. App. 166, 912 S.W.2d 14 (1995). Conflicts in the medical evidence are a question of fact for the Commission. Henson v. Club Prods., 22 Ark. App. 136, 736 S.W.2d 290 (1987).
[2,3]Appellant raises two points on appeal. First, appellant argues that the Commission's award of additional medical benefits is arbitrary and inconsistent with its own prior opinions, and that it is not supported by substantial evidence. Arkansas Code Annotated section 11-9-508 (Repl. 1996), states that employers must provide all medical treatment that is reasonably necessary for the treatment of a compensable injury. What constitutes reasonable and necessary treatment under this statute is a question of fact for the Commission. Gansky v. Hi-Tech Eng'g, 325 Ark. 163, 924 S.W.2d 790 (1996) (citing Arkansas Dep't of Correction v. Holybee, 46 Ark. App. 232, 878 S.W.2d 420 (1994)); see also Morgan v. Desha County Tax Assessor's Office, 45 Ark. App. 95, 871 S.W.2d 429 (1994). In 1996, the Commission agreed that objective evidence did not support continued treatment beyond the neurological testing on appellee's foot. In the opinion that is the subject of this appeal, the Commission held that objective findings supported additional treatment in the form of pain management as recommended by Dr. Johnson. This does not necessarily demonstrate arbitrariness or inconsistency on the part of the Commission. The Commission correctly decreed that appellee may be entitled to benefits for a subsequent period of complications rela
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