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Kelly v. Baltimore County1/31/2005
William A. Kelly, III, appeals from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County that granted summary judgment in favor of his employer, Baltimore County ("the County"), and reversed a decision by the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission ("the Commission"). Kelly, a Baltimore County police officer, filed a claim with the Commission after being involved in an accident while operating his police cruiser, which was hit by a drunk driver. Kelly claimed he underwent surgery on his lower back as a direct consequence of that accident, which he claimed aggravated a prior back injury. The County opposed Kelly's claim for benefits, alleging that Kelly's surgery stemmed solely from the pre-existing back injury, and not from the employment-related accident. The Commission ruled in Kelly's favor.
The County challenged the decision of the Commission by filing a petition for de novo judicial review in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. In the circuit court, the County filed a motion for summary judgment. In its motion, the County claimed the Commission's decision was incorrect as a matter of law because Kelly failed to submit any medical expert testimony specifically attributing the cause of his back injury to the employment-related accident. The County argued that Kelly was required to produce expert testimony as to causation because the issue involves a complex medical question. The circuit court granted the County's motion and entered summary judgment in its favor. Kelly filed an appeal to this Court. Because we conclude that the case should not have been disposed of by way of summary judgment, we shall reverse the decision of the circuit court.
QUESTION PRESENTED
The question before us is whether a circuit court, in a de novo appeal initiated by the employer from a ruling by the Commission in favor of the employee, can, on summary judgment, reverse the ruling of the Commission and enter judgment in favor of the employer if the employee does not produce expert medical testimony as to causation. Under the circumstances of this case, we hold that it was error for the circuit court to overturn the ruling of the Commission on summary judgment.
BACKGROUND
On October 24, 2002, Kelly was on routine patrol, driving a marked police car, when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle, who was impaired by alcohol, turned the wrong way down a one-way street and crashed into the driver's side of Kelly's car. According to Kelly, as a result of the accident, Kelly re-injured his back, which had been problematic for some time. He obtained medical care on October 25, 2002, at which time he was diagnosed with a lumbar sprain and placed on modified activity with some restrictions.
On October 28, 2002, the County filed a first report of injury, informing the Commission that Kelly's accident caused him to suffer an injury to his lower back (lumbar and sacral). Subsequently, on January 20, 2003, Kelly filed his own employee's claim with the Commission, and he also claimed his lower back was injured when his vehicle was struck. On January 27, 2003, prior to the Commission awarding Kelly any compensation for the October 2002 employment-related injury, Kelly underwent surgery for the decompression of a disc in his back.
The Commission issued Kelly an award on February 25, 2003, finding that he had sustained an accidental injury arising out of the course of his employment, and that he was temporarily totally disabled as a result of his injuries. The County was ordered to provide Kelly with weekly compensation dating back to November 3, 2002, and to pay for his medical treatment and other necessary medical services a
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