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Twiggs v. Municipality of Anchorage6/19/2002
is supported by substantial evidence. Attachment A is a list of evidence in the record this court considered to review the board's findings. It is not this court's duty to reweigh the evidence; rather, a reviewing court must consider the relevant evidence to make a fully informed determination as to whether there is substantial evidence to support the board's findings.
The board found that Twiggs did not tell his supervisor that his back pain was affecting his work behavior and performance until Derry confronted him in 1989. Derry testified in his deposition that he had received a number of complaints from employees and from customers that Twiggs appeared angry and was very short. Exc. 171-72. 1989 was the first time that Derry became aware of Twiggs' back problems, although he had been his supervisor since 1987. Exc. 192.
Secondly, the board determined that Twiggs waited nearly three years before seeking medical advice for his back. Twiggs initially spoke with a doctor 15 days after his injury . The next time that Twiggs spoke with a doctor about his back was in August of 1990. Exc. 92-93, 102-03, 152-66. The board found that he did not actually speak with a physician about his back until he told Derry that his back pain was causing his personality deficiencies. The board's finding is indicative of Twiggs' credibility for two reasons. First, when Twiggs finally sought medical advice it was not for treatment, but so he could file his PPD claim. Exc. 163. Second, if his pain was so intense that it affected his work performance, why did he wait three years before he spoke with a doctor?
Finally, the board found that Twiggs' poor interpersonal skills pre-existed his 1987 injury . Two people that worked with Twiggs while he was a volunteer policeman testified that Twiggs was not promoted to captain of the volunteer policemen because of his deficient interpersonal skills. Twiggs' former supervisor at the police department, Captain Otte, testified that Twiggs was uptight and tense, and that he had alienated staff members. 1992 Tr. at 70. Otte also testified that he did not promote Twiggs in 1987 because he felt that Twiggs could not lead volunteers effectively. Id.
Another police officer, Lieutenant Dooley, was the same rank as Twiggs when they worked together at the police department. Dooley testified that Twiggs was difficult to get along with, often inflexible, and was very critical. Id. at 55. He further testified that some volunteers requested not to be assigned to work with him. Id. Twiggs resigned from his position as a volunteer policeman after he did not receive the promotion to captain. Supervisor Derry described (in his deposition) behavior that was similar to the behavior that Otte and Dooley described. For example, Derry stated that approximately 25% of the time he found that Twiggs was inflexible when dealing with agencies. Exc. 203. He also stated that Twiggs was not a good politician. Id.
The testimony regarding Twiggs' mannerisms before his 1987 back injury is important because it tends to show his character traits that prevented his promotion existed before his injury. It also tends to discredit Twiggs' 1989 self-report that his back pain affected his temperament.
Substantial evidence is the standard of review. The issue is whether the board had relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support its conclusion that Twiggs did not meet his burden of proof. The issue is not whether Twiggs presented sufficient evidence that could support a finding that he is entitled to PPD benefits. The board identified three factors that it considered important to its decision that Twiggs did not meet his burden of proof. T
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