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Cutsinger v. Spears Manufacturing Company6/28/2002
was not a "new condition" constituting an "occupational disease." Id.
This Court went on to find that Nelson did not establish that an "accident" aggravated the pre-existing carpal tunnel syndrome and, consequently, was not entitled to compensation . Id. at 132, 879 P.2d at 595. This Court relied on two cases, Nycum v. Triangle Dairy Co., 109 Idaho 858, 712 P.2d 559 (1985) and Carlson v. Batts, 69 Idaho 456, 207 P.2d 1023 (1949), in support of its decision. Id.
This Court compared the definition of "accident" found in Idaho's worker 's compensation laws in 1949, when Carlson was decided, to the revised definition that existed when Nycum was decided. Id. The 1949 definition set a much higher standard to meet, and specifically noted that an accident must "[happen] suddenly" and be "definitely located as to time when and place where it occurred." Id. This Court observed that the newer definition was more lenient; however, it found that the claimant must still prove that an "unexpected, undesigned, and unlooked for mishap or untoward event took place." Id. Nelson, this Court found, "has failed to show that her carpal tunnel syndrome was aggravated by an 'unexpected, undesigned, and unlooked for mishap, or untoward event,' reasonably identifiable as to time when and place where it occurred." Id. at 133, 879 P.2d at 596.
This Court found that the Commission erred in relying on Brooks v. Standard Fire Ins. Co., 117 Idaho 1066, 793 P.2d 1238 (1990). Id. Specifically, this Court held, " e do not hereby endorse the theory that a series of mini-traumas constitutes an accident." Id.
2. Nelson misconstrued previous case law.
a. Carlson v. Batts
According to Nelson, Carlson v. Batts, 69 Idaho 456, 207 P.2d 1023 (1949), further supported the finding that a claimant must establish that an accident aggravated or accelerated a pre-existing condition. Nelson, 126 Idaho at 132, 793 P.2d at 595. Specifically, in Carlson, this Court said, " he question as to whether or not the evidence sustains the finding of an aggravation of pre-existing bodily weakness, infirmity of susceptibility, becomes relatively unimportant if the facts are not sufficient to establish that the injury was a result of an 'accident.'" Carlson, 69 Idaho at 458, 207 P.2d at 1023.
I find the facts in Carlson are not analogous to those presented in Nelson. In Carlson, this Court explored an appeal brought by a carpenter employed to finish a floor. Carlson, 69 Idaho at 457, 207 P.2d at 1023. After working for several days, the claimant noticed swelling and stiffness in the knee and was hospitalized as a result. Id. The claimant was diagnosed with bursitis. Id.
The board found, "Claimant's bursitis did not result from an unexpected or undesigned event or circumstance, but from an aggravation of a pre-existing bodily weakness, infirmity or susceptibility by usual working motions and movements while he was doing his regular work in a normal way." Id. at 457-58, 207 P.2d at 1023. The Carlson Court went on to affirm the decision of the board after determining that the claimant had not established that his injury was a result of an accident. Id.
One significant factor in Carlson must be noted: the claimant in Carlson did not pursue recovery on an occupational disease theory. In fact, the record in Carlson is void of any discussion of the claimant's medical history. Consequently, it appears that the claimant was pursuing recovery based on an "injury by accident" theory, not based on an occupational disease resulting from aggravation of a pre-existing condition. As such, it seems logical that a claimant pursuing recovery solely under an "injury by accident" theor
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