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Poff v. IBP3/11/2005
the Board's decision if the evidence supports the conclusion that the award was proper. See Neal v. Hy-Vee, Inc., 277 Kan. at 16-17.
The ALJ, citing Demars v. Rickel Manufacturing Corporation, 223 Kan. 374, 573 P.2d 1036 (1978), found it is well established under the workers compensation law in Kansas that when a worker 's job duties aggravate or accelerate an existing condition or disease or intensify a pre-existing condition, the aggravation becomes compensable as a work-related accident. The ALJ held that the medical evidence, as provided by Dr. Bosiljevac, a board-certified vascular surgeon, supported Poff's claim that his captive, standing position for 8 hours a day at IBP aggravated his varicose veins and caused them to grow worse. The ALJ held: "The court finds that while claimant's work duties did not cause claimant's lower extremity symptoms, the captive position in which he was required to stand was part of the nature of his job and such was responsible for aggravating claimant's varicose veins."
The Board affirmed the ALJ's determination and concluded that Poff met his burden of proving that the work he did for IBP aggravated, intensified, or accelerated his pre-existing varicose vein condition to a degree greater than the natural aging process and the normal activities of daily living. See K.S.A. 44-508(e). The Board found that all doctors agreed that Poff's work activities for IBP aggravated his varicose veins. The Board stated that the legislature did not intend for the "normal activities of day-to-day living" to be so broadly defined as to include injuries caused or aggravated by the strain of physical exertion of work. While this is a fine distinction, we believe it is a correct interpretation of the law.
The Kansas Supreme Court has held that when a worker with a pre-existing condition sustains a subsequent work-related injury that aggravates, accelerates, or intensifies his or her condition, resulting in disability, he or she is entitled to be fully compensated for the resulting disability. Baxter v. L.T. Walls Constr. Co., 241 Kan. 588, 591, 738 P.2d 445 (1987). The test is not whether the injury causes the condition, but whether the injury aggravates or accelerates the condition. Claphan v. Great Bend Manor, 5 Kan. App. 2d 47, 49, 611 P.2d 180, rev. denied 228 Kan. 806 (1980). Where a pre-existing condition is aggravated by an accidental injury arising out of employment, a claimant is entitled to compensation for the entire disability without apportionment. 5 Kan. App. 2d at 51.
Compensable injuries under the Workers Compensation Act are those personal injuries caused by accident arising out of and in the course of employment. K.S.A. 44-501(a). However, a personal injury shall not be deemed to have been directly caused by the employment "where it is shown that the employee suffers disability as a result of the natural aging process or by the normal activities of day-to-day living." K.S.A. 44-508(e).
We agree with the Board that Poff's aggravation of his varicose vein condition does not constitute a disability as a result of the natural aging process or normal day-to-day activities. Compare Martin v. U.S.D. No. 233, 5 Kan. App. 2d 298, 615 P.2d 168 (1980); with Boeckmann v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 210 Kan. 733, 504 P.2d 625 (1972). In Demars v. Rickel Manufacturing Corporation, 223 Kan. 374, 379, 573 P.2d 1036 (1978), the court distinguished Boeckmann and held that heavy lifting on the job could constitute a series of accidents that would qualify a claimant for workers compensation. In Demars, the medical testimony supported the claim that the heavy lifting aggravated a pre-existing condition and caused disability. Thus, under Boec
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