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Anastos v. General Chemical Soda Ash9/27/2005
e saw Anastos on January 10, 2002. In a letter to Anastos' attorney, Dr. Digre stated:
His headache has been peculiar in that when he lies down he does better and when he is upright he has more pain indicating that he has positional headaches that seem to come on with exertion. . . . It was my impression [when I examined Anastos] that his headache had some migraine features. However it did seem to start after he had lifted these weights in part of his job . I wondered whether at some point he could have a low pressure headache syndrome which then to more migraine related headaches. His headaches at the present time now are really exertional headache .
Therefore I would suggest at least by the patient[']s history that his symptoms are linked to the work related event of April of 2001. He may have started out with a low pressure headache but the headache he is having now is more migrainous and certainly exertion valsalva maneuvers can make migraines occur.
Dr. Digre also concluded that Anastos' vision problems were not related to his work, but rather were genetically inherited abnormalities. Later, in her deposition testimony, Dr. Digre described Anastos' reported history with his headaches as "unusual" and "striking . . .." She went on to list a number of potential causes for Anastos' headaches, but concluded that no objective evidence existed supporting any of the possible diagnoses. Dr. Digre testified that she did not expect the headaches to persist.
[ ] On December 12, 2001, Dr. MacGuire submitted her report to the Division assessing Anastos a five percent whole person impairment rating. Anastos requested a second opinion, and Dr. Whipp increased the impairment rating to eight percent, with the additional three percent to account for pain. Neither General Chemical nor the Division contested the additional three percent.
[ ] The Division issued a Final Determination on January 10, 2002, stating that Anastos was not eligible to receive temporary total disability benefits after November 9, 2001, because that was the day he was released to return to work. On June 26, 2002, the Division issued another Final Determination of Permanent Partial Impairment Benefit accepting Dr. Whipp's eight percent whole body impairment rating. Also, the Division issued final determinations denying all of Anastos' claims relating to his headaches and vision problems.
[ ] Anastos objected to these final determinations and requested a contested case hearing before the Medical Commission. The Medical Commission heard Anastos' case on September 13, 2002, and entered its Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order of Medical Commission Hearing Panel on November 5, 2002. With respect to Anastos' claimed headaches and vision problems, the Medical Commission stated:
8. With regard to medical treatment and diagnostic testing for Mr. Anastos' headaches and eyes, the Panel FINDS Mr. Anastos has not met his burden of proof. It is undisputed that Mr. Anastos['] eye problems in part stem from non-work related conditions and the remainder of his vision problems relate to his headaches. As to the headaches, the medical records from Drs. Balka and Whipp are clear -- there was no mention made of headaches to either doctor two months following the work accident. Had his headaches been causally related to Mr. Anastos' work injury such would have been apparent shortly after the injury. The Panel does not find it credible to believe that two physicians would fail to record complaints of debilitating headaches with associated vision changes.
9. Furthermore, the Panel FINDS that the doctors who examined Mr. Anastos are unclear as to the cause of these he
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