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Grover C. Dils Medical Center v. Menditto6/9/2005
kely a re-aggravation of a pre-existing condition . . . . early 100%[ ] would be attributable to the pre-existing condition that was a result of the 1997 industrial accident."
Meanwhile, Menditto changed employers; she began working for appellant Grover C. Dils Medical Center (Dils Medical) on November 10, 1999. On February 12, 2001, in the context of providing CPR to a patient, Menditto maintained a straddling position for an extended period. Later, on April 25, 2001, Menditto helped lift and maneuver an obese patient who had fallen out of bed. Shortly thereafter, in May 2001, Menditto's painful physical condition caused her to stop working. She subsequently signed a notice of injury form, asserting that her actions during the February CPR incident had hurt her back and neck, and that she had injured her back and spine during the April lifting incident.
Menditto continued to seek relief from various physicians. In May 2001, three doctors examined Menditto. Essentially, they all opined that Menditto's symptoms arose from her 1997 injuries and had since grown worse. The doctors noted that, according to Menditto, she had returned to her pre-accident baseline within several months after the accident, and she began reexperiencing back pain and other symptoms two to eight weeks earlier. One doctor, however, noted that he did not have available the 1997 medical records. Although another doctor suggested that Menditto's 1997 pain had subsided except for intermittent, nondebilitating pain, he also noted progressive neck difficulties since the 1997 accident, with radiating pain and constant headaches. The doctors found that Menditto had "recently" suffered a "recurrence" of her symptoms, which had been "aggravated" by her occupation as a nurse. Two of the doctors never specifically mentioned the February CPR or April lifting incidents; the other doctor stated only months later that Menditto had "sustained a re-aggravation of her neck and lower back pain in a work accident in February."
In June 2001, another doctor, Dr. Dale G. Stott, reported that after the 1997 accident, Menditto underwent therapy and was able to return to work, but that she "once again developed neck pain with a recurrence of symptoms including numbness . . . and burning" during the February CPR incident, and she sustained pain in the lower back during the April lifting incident. He stated that, although Menditto recovered from her 1997 injuries, she suffered recurrences of pain "in the process of working," due to her C4-5 cervical disc herniation/cervical radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative disc disease.
Dr. Kamal signed the June 2001 workers' compensation claim form for cervical disc herniation and degenerative lumbar disc disease, directly connecting the claims to Menditto's employment by checking the appropriate box and writing "aggravated at work." He also noted that Menditto's symptoms began with the 1997 accident and had been "aggravated by recent injury." But he also wrote on a physician's certificate that the date Menditto's condition commenced was "unknown." Dr. Kamal additionally penned a June 2001 letter in which he noted that Menditto was under his care for problems originating from the 1997 accident, that an (unidentified) MRI showed that her disc herniation had worsened, and that the aggravated condition required reopening of the 1997 claim.
Dils Medical's insurer denied Menditto's claim; consequently, Menditto requested Olsten to reopen the 1997 claim. Olsten also denied her request, and Menditto administratively appealed both Dils Medical's and Olsten's determinations. At the administrative hearing, the above evidence was submitted to the appeals officer. Menditto also testifie
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