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Mrs. Baird's Bakery v. Cox4/26/2005
mined this event insufficient to establish an intervening injury.
The COCA's majority, in an unpublished 2-1 opinion (one judge dissenting), indicates the matter involved a question of law because the majority found no conflict in the evidence as to the salient facts, nor opposite inferences from what the majority, apparently, determined to be undisputed proof. Consequently, the COCA's majority opinion ruled that the factual record led to only one conclusion, to wit: that the home event involving claimant picking up his daughter constituted an intervening cause. The COCA's majority opinion also took issue with the three-judge panel's substituted 5, essentially taking the view the reasonableness of claimant's conduct at home in regard to picking up his daughter is not determinative of whether claimant suffered only a recurrence of the work-related injury. Claimant sought certiorari, which we previously granted.
PART III. DISCUSSION
The question of whether disability should be attributed to an initial accident or a second depends on whether the second injury is merely a recurrence of an initial injury or, instead, the result of an independent and intervening cause. See Chromalloy-Am., Okla. Div. v. Wright, 1977 OK 93, 567 P.2d 71, 72-73. A " ubsequent incident or accident aggravating original injury may be of such nature and occur under such circumstances as to make original injury responsible cause." Patterson Steel Co. v. Stevens, 1965 OK 184, 408 P.2d 782, 782 (First Syllabus by the Court). "Where there have been two accidents to an employee, the question of whether the disability sustained by him should be attributed to the first accident or to the second accident depends on whether or not the disability sustained was caused by a recurrence of the original injury or by an independent intervening cause." New York Indemnity Co. Miller, 1933 OK 303 22 P.2d 107, 108 (Seventh Syllabus by the Court). Of course, the question as to the responsibility for medical care, i.e., whether the necessity therefore may be attributed to an initial work-related accident or a second non-work-related accident or event, is controlled by the same test(s) or standard(s) related in the above three cases.
Further, " he cause and extent of the disability resulting from an accidental injury is a question of fact, and where the evidence is in conflict and there is any competent evidence reasonably tending to support the finding of the State Industrial Commission [predecessor to the WCC - hereafter referred to as WCC], an order or award based thereon will not be disturbed on review." Griffith v. Viersen Oil and Gas Co., 1956 OK 278, 302 P.2d 969, 969 (Syllabus by the Court). Thus, when there is conflicting competent evidence as to the factual causation issue supportive of a decision in favor of either the employer or the claimant, and no issue is raised upon review other than that the record does not contain competent evidence supporting the decision of the WCC tribunal, an appellate court must sustain the WCC decision when there is, indeed, competent evidence supporting its decision, regardless of whether that decision is in favor of the employer or the claimant.
It was also stated in Carey Furniture & Appliance Co. v. Carey, 1961 OK 278, 368 P.2d 493, 495, quoting from Tippett & Bond v. Moore, 1934 OK 220, 31 P.2d 583, 583 (First Syllabus by the Court):
Where a claimant is asserted to have suffered two different accidental personal injuries ... the question of whether either one or both of such injuries is responsible for the resulting disability is one of fact to be determined by the . The finding of that body on such a question will not be di
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