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Bassett-Walker Inc. v. Wyatt11/25/1997
Argued at Richmond, Virginia
UPON REHEARING EN BANC
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
Bassett-Walker, Inc. (appellant) appeals a decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission (commission) awarding benefits to Shirley Jean Wyatt (claimant). It contends that the commission erred when it concluded that claimant's injury arose out of her employment. A panel of this Court agreed with appellant and reversed the commission's decision. See Bassett-Walker, Inc. v. Wyatt, No. 1002-96-3, slip op. at 3. (Va. Ct. App. March 4, 1997). We granted claimant's petition for a rehearing en banc and now affirm the commission's award.
I.
FACTS
Claimant was a knitter whose work involved operating knitting machines. Rolls of yarn were placed on creels attached to the machines, and the machines functioned by knitting yarn fed into them from the creels. Each machine held multiple creels of yarn, some of which were "as high as you could reach from the floor," while the lowest row of yarn was about "two inches off the floor." The machines consumed numerous rolls of yarn during the course of claimant's twelve hour shift. Each time a roll of yarn was emptied, claimant was responsible for placing a new roll on the empty creel. In order to reload the yarn on the bottom-most creels of a machine, claimant was required to perform a deep knee-bend to reach their location two inches above the floor. At the lowest point of each knee-bend, claimant's weight rested on her heels, her knees did not touch the floor, and her "rear end lower than knees." The operation of the knitting machines required claimant to perform these deep knee-bends approximately 200 times each twelve hour shift.
On March 13, 1995, claimant was performing her duties when the machine she was operating emptied a roll of yarn. Claimant placed a new roll of yarn on the creel and "squatted down to tie the bottom in." Claimant was not holding anything in her hand. Before she had reached the deepest position of her knee-bend, claimant heard a pop and felt a tearing sensation in her left knee. When she tried to stand up, she was unable to straighten her left leg. Claimant's injury was diagnosed as a torn medial meniscus, and she underwent arthroscopic surgery to correct the injury.
Claimant filed a claim for benefits. Following a hearing, a deputy commissioner denied her claim, concluding that claimant's injury did not arise out of her employment. The deputy commissioner found that "the conditions of claimant's employment did not contribute to her injury" and that her injury occurred during a "normal squatting motion." Claimant appealed, and the commission reversed. The commission concluded that claimant's injury was causally related to her work reloading the bottom-most creels of the knitting machine. It found that "claimant's knee injury followed as a natural incident of the work and could be reasonably seen as resulting from exposure occasioned by the nature of the employment, which required her to squat approximately 200 times per shift." It also found that the job -related hazard that contributed to her injury was the "need to squat in order to perform her work, coupled with the number of times that maneuver was required per shift and the length of time which she had to maintain the position."
II.
INJURY "ARISING OUT OF" EMPLOYMENT
Appellant concedes that claimant suffered an injury during the course of her employment. It contends, however, that the commission erred when it concluded that claimant's injury arose out of her employment. Appellant argues that claimant's risk of injury while performing deep knee-bend
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