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Doe v. S.C. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs4/18/2005
e could not transfer to another area of the Department because no other employees were willing to accept her shift.
The Department produced evidence that the change of patients was not an unexpected or unusual event. Additionally, the Department showed the number of patients under Claimant's care decreased as a result of the change. The evidence indicated Claimant was specifically trained to handle more aggressive patients, and it was not unusual for nurses who worked for the Department to be subjected to aggressive behavior.
The single commissioner found Claimant had failed to prove her mental injury was the result of unusual or extraordinary circumstances. He found the environment was one to be expected when dealing with the patients in the care of the Department. Additionally, the commissioner found no evidence that Claimant's physical injuries directly caused her stress and fears. Therefore, the commissioner found Claimant had failed to provide evidence that her mental injury was compensable. The Full Commission agreed and adopted the findings and conclusions of the single commissioner.
The circuit court reversed the order of the Full Commission. The circuit court found Claimant had presented substantial evidence of the unusual and extraordinary nature of her work environment. Additionally, the circuit court found the mental injury was accompanied by the physical injuries, and therefore the circuit court did not need to determine whether the work conditions were unusual and extraordinary. The circuit court specifically noted that physical injuries do not have to be the direct cause of the mental injury, but must be a cause and must accompany the mental injury. Finally, the circuit court awarded Claimant five hundred weeks of total and permanent disability compensation in the amount of $330.86 per week for her mental injury. This appeal followed.
ISSUES ON APPEAL
I. Did the circuit court err by reversing the decision of the Full Commission and finding Claimant's mental injury was compensable as the result of unusual and extraordinary work conditions?
II. Did the circuit court err by reversing the decision of the Full Commission and finding Claimant's mental injury was compensable as the result of a mental injury accompanied by a physical injury?
III. Did the circuit court err by awarding Claimant total and permanent disability benefits instead of remanding for a determination by the Full Commission?
STANDARD OF REVIEW
The Administrative Procedures Act establishes the standard of review for decisions by the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. Lark v. Bi-Lo, Inc., 276 S.C. 130, 134-35, 276 S.E.2d 304, 306 (1981). "In workers' compensation cases, the Full Commission is the ultimate fact finder." Shealy v. Aiken County, 341 S.C. 448, 455, 535 S.E.2d 438, 442 (2000). "The final determination of witness credibility and the weight to be accorded evidence is reserved to the Full Commission." Id. In an appeal from the commission, this court, as well as the circuit court, may not substitute its judgment for that of the commission as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. S.C. Code Ann. ยง 1-23-380(A)(6) (Supp. 2004). The appellate court can reverse or modify the Full Commission's decision only if the claimant's substantial rights have been prejudiced because the decision is affected by an error of law or is clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record. Id. "Substantial evidence is not a mere scintilla of evidence nor evidence viewed from one side, but such evidence, when the whole record is considered, as would allow reasonable
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