Industrial Reports

2002

WORK INJURY Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Al Evans vs. Woodland Park Care Center and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --2000816
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 11/01
Amount --The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $4,560 for the period running from 6/16/2000 through 10/13/2000, plus interest. Employer/carrier must also continue to pay claimant's related medical expenses. The claim for additional permanent partial disability benefits was denied, since claimant did not present any evidence to prove he suffered additional impairment.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a right hip injury which caused him ongoing pain, weakness and difficulty ascending stairs. He was diagnosed with a bulged disc at L5/S1. Dr. Chung gave claimant a 3% related whole person impairment rating.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Hans M. Scheffler
Damages --Employer/carrier paid claimant temporary total disability benefits for three weeks at $266 per week, as well as $3,200 in medical expenses. Employer/carrier paid claimant for his 3% permanent partial impairment.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured while assisting a patient weighing over 300 pounds in the transfer from her wheelchair to her bed. He later aggravated this injury at work and sought additional temporary total disability compensation for the times he was unable to work. He also sought additional permanent partial disability benefits.
Employer/carrier admitted the accident occurred and accepted liability, but argued that it had already paid claimant all the benefits to which he was entitled.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; BT; Work-related assault
Case Name --Garlyn W. Davis vs. L. W. Miller Transportation and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 11/01
Amount --The ALJ stated that she found claimant's account credible; she therefore ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's related medical expenses.
Injuries --Claimant suffered two smooth fractures of the jaw, with fracturing in teeth numbers 2, 3, 19 and 30.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Eugene W. Miller Jr.
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Gary W. Lowder
Damages --Employer reimbursed claimant for $300 of the $600 that was stolen and paid $133 of his medical expenses.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured during a robbery while he was driving a truck for employer. He had a load to deliver at a Jack in the Box in Phoenix and drove down from Logan. Arriving the night before the delivery was scheduled to be made, he discovered he could not park his truck in the customer's lot because the lot only held three trucks and was already occupied by the first three trucks scheduled to make deliveries the next morning. Claimant therefore drove to a nearby truck stop, but found its parking lot was also full. He said he parked the truck on a side street and sat in the cab for a while to make sure the neighborhood looked safe, after which he locked all the doors, crawled into the sleeper, and fell asleep.
At 7:00 the next morning, claimant stated, two young men broke into the cab, pushed claimant down onto his face in the sleeper, trained a gun on him and demanded his wallet. Claimant said he believed they reached through the window, which claimant had left open a bit for air, and unlocked the door. Claimant gave the men his wallet, and they took $600 out of it and demanded more. Claimant told the men that was all the money he had, but added that the men found some dollar bills which had fallen into his boots while he was getting out his wallet. The robbers became enraged, accused claimant of lying, pulled him up by his hair and struck him in the side of the face with the gun. They then fled. Claimant said he blew the truck's air horn as the robbers were running away, but no one responded.
Claimant said he drove to the truck stop after the robbery and told a policeman there what had happened, but added that he made no formal report because the officer "didn't seem interested." Claimant made his delivery, picked up his return load and drove back to Logan.
Claimant said he believed he suffered no ill effects from being hit with the gun beyond some transitory pain. Two years after the incident, however, he began experiencing pain and felt tooth slivers in his mouth. He consulted Dr. Lowder, who discovered the healed fractures and also found several of claimant's teeth were beginning to break up. Dr. Lowder said he was quite sure the injuries stemmed from the assault.
Employer/carrier at first paid some of claimant's expenses, but contended that his story of pain and tooth fractures beginning two years after the accident was not credible. Claimant alleged that he filed his claim as soon as he realized his problems were caused by being hit with the gun.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Jeff D. Hofhine vs. Schuff Steel Company and Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Insurance
Case Number --99573
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's related medical expenses through 4/21/99 and also to pay for a three-month trial of Depakote or a calcium channel blocker to prevent claimant's migraine headaches. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant accrued temporary total disability compensation of $138.80 and accrued temporary partial disability benefits of $290.64; both payments are due in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Attorney's fees are to include 20% of the accrued interest on this award.
Injuries --Claimant contended that he suffered a brain injury; employer/carrier disputed this claim.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Timothy C. Allen
Attorney(s) - Defense --S. Brook Millard of Dunn & Dunn
Expert Witness(es) --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Thomas Schenkenberg; Dr. George Smith; Dr. John Foley; and Dr. John Hylen.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant, an iron worker, hit his head on one of the boards holding a handrail around the upper level of a work area while climbing a ladder to get to the work area at a construction site. Claimant fell four feet off the ladder, striking his chest and elbow, and lost consciousness for a few seconds. He revived, complained of dizziness and blurred vision, and then passed out again, after which his foreman called an ambulance. An accident report filled out by a former certified EMT said claimant was shaking violently, although he said he was not cold, and he appeared pale and was breathing in a "ragged" manner. Cervical spine X-rays and a cranial CT scan were normal. After the accident claimant complained for some time of continuing headaches and vertigo which he felt made it unsafe for him to work. He eventually returned to his job as an iron worker.
Claimant had a prior history of head trauma with headaches. Because of this fact, and because most of claimant's diagnostic tests, both organic and cognitive, were normal, employer/carrier denied liability. However, electronystagmography confirmed claimant's complaint of vertigo and revealed hyperactive caloric responses.
The medical panel found the treatment claimant received was medically necessitated by his work injury until he stabilized three months and two days after the accident. The panel also recommended workers' compensation coverage for a three-month trial of Depakote or a calcium channel blocker to prevent claimant's migraine headaches.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Dan R. McKenzie vs. Southern Utah Fuel Company and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --991158
Court/Judge --Poelman
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found claimant made reasonable efforts to fulfill his obligations under the terms of the return-to-work plan, and employer/carrier should have modified the plan when it became obvious that claimant was not going to be able to comply with it. The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay for an updated functional capacity evaluation and review the return-to-work plan in light of the results, modifying it if needed. Claimant must continue to cooperate fully with the plan, and employer/carrier must pay claimant accrued subsistence benefits of $365 per week from 5/3/01 until the date of payment in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Regular payment of subsistence benefits must then continue until claimant completes the return-to-work plan or it is abandoned.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a back injury.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Wayne A. Freestone of Freestone & Angerhofer
Attorney(s) - Defense --Barbara W. Sharp
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Gaufin
Facts/Contentions --After claimant was injured, he and his employer reached a return-to-work agreement whereby employer/carrier was to pay claimant subsistence benefits while claimant was attending school to obtain his associate's degree and a bachelor's degree in accounting. However, though claimant registered for 12 credit hours in the fall semester, he stated that he had to discontinue a 3-hour evening class because of pain. After he realized that he was not going to be able to complete his course work in the time allotted by the plan, he spoke with his vocational rehabilitation counselor and offered to take summer classes to make up the required credit hours, but employer/carrier terminated his subsistence benefits on grounds that claimant was not cooperating fully with the return-to-work plan. Claimant produced a statement from Dr. Gaufin's office in which the doctor opined that claimant was unable to maintain a 12-hour class schedule because of his work-related low back pain, mid-back pain, neck pain and numbness of the hands, and would have to take a reduced number of hours each semester.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Gil C. Sorensen vs. Ascend H R Solutions and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --2000738
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found that since claimant's physician documented the inappropriateness of the work offered in that it aggravated claimant's pre-existing symptoms, light duty work suitable to claimant's limitations was not really available to him. The ALJ therefore ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant additional accrued temporary total disability benefits of $1,272.65 in a lump sum plus interest.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a fractured fifth right metacarpal.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Lori Hansen
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Robert Horne
Facts/Contentions --After claimant broke his finger, he was offered light duty work by his employer and accepted it. However, he claimed the sitting involved in the light duty work aggravated his low back pain from a pre-existing vertebral compression fracture; he discontinued the light duty work and sought additional temporary total disability benefits.
Employer/carrier said no restrictions were placed on claimant, who could stand up or sit down at will while doing the light duty work. Employer/carrier contended that since light duty work was available and claimant refused to perform it, employer/carrier was not liable for any further disability benefits.
Claimant's doctor wrote a note stating that claimant could not perform the duties involved in the light duty work because they aggravated his low back pain.

REPETITIVE STRESS INJURY
Case Type --WA, SI; Work-related repetitive stress injury
Case Name --Juana Tellez vs. Artex International, Incorporated
Case Number --99556
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ accepted the medical panel's findings and dismissed the claims for benefits related to the carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, and cervical spinal injuries; however, the ALJ reserved the issue of claimant's possible entitlement to permanent partial impairment benefits related to the shoulder injury pending submission of a permanent impairment rating.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a right shoulder injury and also claimed she developed carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome and degenerative spondylolysis at C6/7.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Virginius Dabney of Dabney & Dabney, St. George
Attorney(s) - Defense --Thomas C. Sturdy of Blackburn & Stoll (Brad C. Betebenner of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson substituted during the pendency of this claim before the Labor Commission)
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel.
Facts/Contentions --Plaintiff worked for self-insured employer as an apron-folder, inspecting aprons, fold them and stacking them. She claimed the repetitive actions involved in this work caused all her symptoms, which came on suddenly one day after she placed the last bundle of aprons on top of a stack above shoulder height. Claimant said she felt a pain as if something had burst in her shoulder, accompanied by a burning sensation in her face, neck and arm.
Employer accepted liability for the shoulder injury, but denied that claimant's carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome and cervical spine injuries were work-related.
The medical panel found claimant's shoulder symptoms were related to her work activities, but her other problems were not.

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE
Case Type --OD; Occupational disease claim
Case Name --Gary D. Harris vs. Battelle Memorial Institute/CNA Casualty of California; and EG&G/Liberty Mutual Insurance
Case Number --99332, 99334
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 11/01
Amount --The ALJ granted Battelle's motion to dismiss under the Last Injurious Exposure Rule, finding that EG&G was claimant's employer of record for at least 12 months before this claim was filed and would therefore be the only party liable if claimant suffered from occupational disease. The ALJ found, however, that claimant did not produce sufficient evidence to support his claim of disability caused by chemical poisoning on the job at EG&G. The ALJ therefore dismissed this claim with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant alleged that he suffered neurotoxic poisoning from his chemical exposures. Tests did not show any abnormalities which could stem from chemical poisoning from mustard gas, organophosphates or heavy metals.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Kenneth E. Atkin of Atkin & Associates
Attorney(s) - Defense --For Battelle/CNA: Theodore E. Kanell of Plant, Wallace, Christensen & Kanell; for EG&G: Doug Owens; for Liberty Mutual: Michael E. Dyer of Blackburn & Stoll
Facts/Contentions --Claimant alleged that he suffered toxic chemical exposures during the time he worked for both Battelle and EG&G which left him permanently and totally disabled.
Battelle argued that it should be dismissed from the claim under the Last Injurious Exposure Rule, since claimant was employed by EG&G for more than twelve months after leaving Battelle. Battelle also claimed there were no hazardous waste spills recorded at its incinerator during the time claimant worked there. Records indicated that claimant was not involved in cleaning up any hazardous spills at Battelle.
Liberty Mutual denied that claimant suffered chemical exposures at its facility and also contended that the permanent total disability claim was premature, since claimant did not have a permanent partial impairment rating. Records at both facilities indicated that claimant was not exposed to any dangerous chemicals in the course of his employment at either one.

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE
Case Type --OD; Occupational disease
Case Name --Sheree Fontenot vs. University of Utah and/or Workers' Compensation Fund; Utah Valley State College and/or Workers' Compensation Fund; and Salt Lake Community College and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --991233, 991234, 2000520
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found employers/WCF do not owe claimant any further temporary total disability benefits. However, the ALJ ordered employers/WCF to pay claimant accrued permanent partial disability benefits of $5,513.84 plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Of this award, SLCC must pay 50%, the U of U must pay 30%, and UVSC must pay 20%. The ALJ also ruled SLCC must reimburse the U of U for 50% of the benefits it has already paid claimant, and UVSC must reimburse the U of U for 20% of the benefits it has already paid claimant.
Injuries --Claimant developed bilateral CTS and shoulder impingement. Dr. Holmes gave her a 6% upper extremity rating for the loss of function in the right shoulder and a 3% upper extremity rating for loss of function in the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand. Of this total impairment, Dr. Holmes found 50% was due to claimant's work at SLCC, 30% was due to her exposure at the U of U, and 20% resulted from her activities at UVSC.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Phillip B. Shell of Day, Shell & Liljenquist
Attorney(s) - Defense --For University of Utah/WCF: Barbara W. Sharp; for Utah Valley State College/WCF: Lori Hansen; for SLCC: Eugene Miller Jr.
Expert Witness(es) --Because of the great quantity of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to Dr. Edward B. Holmes, a specialist in occupational medicine.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant, a state-certified Level III American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, stated she developed her occupational disease while interpreting ASL for all three employers. ASL employs extensive movements of the arms. Claimant contended that employers should have provided team interpreters when several back-to-back one-hour classes were scheduled instead of just for two-hour classes. Claimant often interpreted from 7 AM to 3 or 4 PM daily with only one hour off for lunch.
Utah Valley State College denied liability and contended that claimant failed to prove medical causation. The University of Utah denied liability for the shoulder injuries, but accepted liability for a previous right wrist/thumb injury. SLCC denied liability due to intervening exposure.
Dr. Holmes found a medical causal connection between claimant's work activities and her symptoms.

FALL
Case Type --WA, SF; Work-related fall
Case Name --Kevin Graves vs. Ballard Medical Products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Case Number --2000665
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --Because claimant was symptomatic before he fell, the ALJ ruled the hip replacement surgery was not necessitated by the work injury; the ALJ therefore dismissed this claim with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant underwent total hip arthroplasty.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Carrie T. Taylor of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Lynn Rasmussen
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Richard Knoebel--Independent Medical Examination
Facts/Contentions --Claimant fell while lifting a 65-pound box down from a shelf at work after he caught his foot in a pallet. He contended that the surgery he later needed was necessitated by the work injury.
Self-insured employer denied liability for claimant's surgery and associated temporary total and permanent partial disability.
Dr. Rasmussen felt the fall caused further collapse and aggravation with acute symptoms of a pre-existing avascular necrosis of the left femoral head. Dr. Rasmussen opined that while claimant would eventually have needed a total hip replacement, the fall at work caused the collapse and fracture of the femoral head, necessitating the replacement sooner than it would otherwise have been needed. Dr. Knoebel found the avascular necrosis was not caused by or aggravated by the fall. Claimant's medical history indicated the avascular necrosis was already symptomatic before he fell.

FALL
Case Type --WA, SF; Work-related fall
Case Name --(Name of case withheld)
Case Number --200022
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --Notwithstanding claimant's loss of credibility, the ALJ accepted the medical panel's findings and found claimant did actually suffer the failed surgery and attendant impairment. The ALJ found that self-insured employer overpaid claimant's temporary total disability benefits by $1,598.03. This figure was offset against the additional permanent partial disability benefits employer still owes claimant for her further 15% related whole person impairment, leaving a total balance owing of $2,608.51. This amount is due and payable in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer must also pay claimant's related medical expenses.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a knee injury which resulted in a failed total right knee arthroplasty. Claimant was left with a pronounced limp and a halting, lordotic gait. The medical panel gave claimant a 25% related whole person permanent impairment. Employer previously paid claimant for a 10% impairment.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --James C. Haskins of Haskins & Associates
Attorney(s) - Defense --Henry K. Chai II of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Alvin Wirthlin--neurologist; and Dr. Glen Momberger--orthopedic surgeon.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant fell down some stairs at a junior high school while picking up some supplies in the course of her employment. Claimant had pre-existing polio in the affected leg, contracted when she was five years old, but the fall caused a new right tibial plateau fracture which necessitated a total right knee arthroplasty. This surgery ultimately failed.
Self-insured employer contended that some of claimant's problems resulted from the earlier polio; however, the medical panel found the surgery was necessitated by the industrial fracture. The ALJ noted, however, that claimant impaired her credibility by embellishing the circumstances surrounding her disability with regard to non-significant details, even though a surveillance video refuted her claims.

DISCRIMINATION
Case Type --DS; Discrimination claim
Case Name --Cindy Kobbs vs. Crossroads Travel nka C R Affiliates
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant $10,800 in lost back wages dating from her termination, as well as $3,925.15 in accrued interest and another $3,000 in attorney's fees. Interest will continue to accrue on the balance due at 8% per annum until the award is paid in full. However, the ALJ said there is no provision in Utah workers' compensation law for compensatory damages in the form of emotional distress. ALJ La Jeunesse therefore denied the $50,000 claim.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Stephen W. Cook
Attorney(s) - Defense --Catherine S. Conklin, Ogden
Facts/Contentions --Claimant contended that her employer fired her because she was pregnant. She sought back pay, accrued interest and attorney's fees, as well as $50,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
When it received notice of the claim and the scheduled hearing, C R sent a letter by its attorney stating that it would not be present at the hearing. The letter said C R understood its non-appearance would result in its being declared in default, and C R had no objections. The default was duly entered at the hearing.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Linda Acosta vs. IASAIS/Salt Lake Regional Medical Center
Case Number --20001139
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ noted that at the time of this incident, claimant had still not stabilized from her earlier surgery and was therefore required to meet the Allen test for extraordinary exertion in order to prove a new injury occurred. The ALJ found claimant's fall did not meet the Allen test, since anyone might have the same thing happen while assisting an elderly or ill relative in everyday life; the injury was therefore an exacerbation of her previous injury, and the ALJ dismissed this claim with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant was diagnosed with multi-level lumbar spondylosis with stenosis and failed lumbar surgery syndrome with epidural fibrosis causing left and right lumbar radiculopathy.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Phillip B. Shell of Day, Shell & Liljenquist
Attorney(s) - Defense --Theodore E. Kanell of Plant, Wallace, Christensen & Kanell
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Robert Hood, Dr. Joel Dahl, Dr. Gerald Moress
Facts/Contentions --Claimant is an LPN who works on the maternity ward. She first injured her low back while working at the same hospital, then known as Holy Cross, under a different owner, at which time she was found to have some pre-existing spinal stenosis. Surgery was performed for that injury, but claimant had not yet been able to return to working a regular twelve-hour shift when this injury occurred. Claimant was assisting a patient who had to go to the bathroom. Claimant said she asked the patient to wait for the arrival of an assistant, who was on the way, but the patient got up and started to head for the bathroom anyway, and claimant walked beside her to support her. The patient's legs buckled and she fell, pulling claimant down with her so that claimant landed on her right knee and right leg. Claimant said she felt as if her leg was jammed into her spine, but she took some Motrin and finished her shift. She went to the emergency room the next day because of pain. Almost two months after this incident, claimant was at home when her right leg buckled and she fell. She said she had not experienced numbness in her leg before this incident, and claimed the incident amounted to a new injury caused by her fall at work two months earlier.
Employer/carrier contended that claimant's injury was not new and that her symptoms were brought on by activities which did not meet the Allen test for extraordinary exertion as required in cases of pre-existing injury.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Rich Cunningham vs. Highland Farms and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --2000716
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found that claimant was self-employed; the ALJ therefore found Highland Farms was not liable because claimant was not working for them at the time of his injury. The ALJ dismissed this claim with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a cut on his left foot.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Eugene C. Miller Jr.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant cuts wood for a living. He said he had a single conversation with Ken Stratton of Highland Farms, who arranged for claimant and a co-worker to cut some wood in an orchard owned by Highland Farms, after which claimant and his co-worker could sell the wood for whatever price they pleased and keep the money. Claimant and his co-worker eventually sold the wood for $100 per truck-load and split the money, with half going to each man. The co-worker owned the truck and the chainsaws and wood-splitters the men used. Claimant was injured when the chainsaw he was using slipped off a log and cut into his foot. He claimed he was employed by Highland Farms at the time.
Highland Farms denied that an employment relationship existed between it and claimant, contending that claimant was self-employed.

FALL
Case Type --WA, SF; Work-related slip/fall
Case Name --Peter J. Handleson vs. Dick Simon Trucking and Fremont Comp
Case Number --99664
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found claimant's fall met the Allen test for extraordinary exertion. The ALJ accepted the medical panel's finding that the industrial fall caused claimant's shoulder injury. The ALJ therefore ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's related medical expenses, as well as accrued temporary total disability benefits of $21,428 plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorneys. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant accrued permanent partial disability benefits of $5.469.75 plus interest and less attorney's fees.
Injuries --Claimant was diagnosed with a right shoulder injury. but doctors disagreed about whether it was a full rotator cuff tear. The medical panel felt the rotator cuff was most likely torn and gave claimant a 5% related whole person impairment rating for his industrial injury, with another 3% whole person impairment due to pre-existing cervical spinal conditions.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Loren M. Lambert of Arrow Legal
Attorney(s) - Defense --Thomas C. Sturdy of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Sorsby, Washington; Dr. Ricketson, Hawaii--orthopedist; Dr. Terry Smith, Hawaii
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dell Felix, PT--functional capacity evaluation; Dr. Gerald Moress and Dr. Gary Zeluff--IMEs; this case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Richard Bromley--orthopedic surgeon and Dr. John Hylen--internist and cardiologist.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was working as a driver-trainer for employer. He had climbed into a trailer to inspect it for cleanliness, and as he was leaving the trailer, his foot slipped out from under him and he fell about three feet onto the ground, landing on his right shoulder just above the shoulder-blade. He did not lose consciousness and continued working, but one and a half or two weeks later he noticed he was unable to shift the truck's gears and was experiencing pain while trying to sleep.
Employer/carrier noted that X-rays showed degenerative changes of the acromioclavicular joint, and employer's evaluating physicians felt the shoulder pain was pre-existing and was caused not by the industrial fall, but by an automobile accident in which claimant was involved six years earlier. Claimant stated his injuries from the automobile accident had completely resolved; he maintained he was not experiencing symptoms prior to his industrial fall.
The medical panel found claimant did suffer an industrial injury which caused his shoulder problems. The panel found claimant stabilized medically eleven months after he was injured.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Sergio Gonzalez Pena vs. Carlos Leblanc (uninsured) and Uninsured Employer's Fund
Case Number --20001202
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ concluded that employer was insolvent or otherwise unable to pay claimant's benefits. The ALJ therefore ordered the ERF to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $2,748 plus interest; accrued temporary partial disability benefits of $110.58 plus interest; and accrued permanent partial disability benefits of $3,206 plus interest. The ERF was also ordered to pay claimant's related medical expenses. The ERF retains full rights of subrogation and has the right to seek repayment in full from Carlos Leblanc, and may also impose on Leblanc a 15% penalty for failure to maintain workers' compensation insurance coverage on his employees.
Injuries --Claimant's left ring finger was amputated at the distal interphalangeal joint and his left little finger was amputated at the proximal interphalangeal joint. Revision of the stump of one finger has been recommended by claimant's treating physician.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Employer failed to file an answer to this complaint and did not appear at the scheduled hearing. For UEF: Sherrie Hayashi
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Claimant's treating physician
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured while using a table saw to install hardwood floors in a home near Park City. Claimant's fingers were caught in the saw and severed.
Employer apparently did not maintain worker's compensation insurance coverage on his employees. Claimant said he tried without success to get employer to pay his medical expenses and reimburse him for the time he was off work.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA: Work-related injury
Case Name --Angel M. Wyant vs. Okland Construction and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --991026
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $7,863.51 plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant accrued permanent partial disability benefits of $5,070 plus interest and less attorney's fees. Attorney's fees shall include 20% of the accrued interest. Employer/carrier was also ordered to pay claimant's related medical expenses through the date when she stabilized medically, but employer/carrier was not required to pay for any future treatment, including the recommended epidural injections or any future surgery.
Injuries --Claimant was diagnosed with a protruding disc at L4/5 with right radiculopathy. The medical panel concluded that claimant suffered a permanent industrially-caused aggravation of pre-existing degenerative spinal disc and joint disease and has permanent light duty work restrictions. The panel gave claimant a 5% related whole person impairment rating and found no further treatment is necessary.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Bradford D. Myler of Myler Law Office, Orem
Attorney(s) - Defense --Mark D. Dean
Expert Witness(es) --This case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Richard Bromley--orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. john Hylen--internist and cardiologist.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant, who operated a forklift and did general labor for Okland, injured her low back while lifting and moving concrete forms weighing 50 to 60 pounds each.
Employer/carrier disputed the need for the medical treatment claimant received and also for the epidural injections recommended by Dr. Horne. Dr. Horne also said claimant might need surgery if the epidural injections were unsuccessful.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA: Work-related injury
Case Name --(Name of case withheld)
Case Number --97583
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Final order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found claimant could not be successfully rehabilitated and employer's re-employment plan was not reasonable or workable, never having been approved by the Labor Commission. The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant permanent total disability benefits of $354 per week for life. Employer/carrier must also pay for claimant's recommended lumbar spinal MRI.
Injuries --Claimant suffered multiple serious injuries, including lumbar spinal injuries, and takes methadone for pain.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --David W. Parker
Attorney(s) - Defense --Carrie T. Taylor of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured in the course and scope of his employment on 9/8/94. His claim was thereafter transferred between several ALJs, who afterward left the Labor Commission; during this time an order was issued awarding claimant temporary subsistence benefits pending a determination of permanent total disability. Employer/carrier, however, contended that claimant was capable of working and submitted a re-employment plan. The case was then assigned to ALJ Eblen. Claimant saw five separate vocational rehabilitation counselors at employer/carrier's behest and underwent surveillance and extensive testing and multiple evaluations. He claimed the counselors did not listen to him, did not make an effort to comprehend his situation or his limitations, and "treated [him] like a criminal." Claimant, who suffers from anxiety, depression and dyslexia, said he received no feedback or assistance with his job applications from his counselors and was severely stressed by the continued evaluation and testing he was forced to undergo on top of his continuing pain. His psychologist had not been paid but continued to treat him because he did not feel claimant should be abandoned. Claimant said he was unable to rely on his subsistence benefit checks, because on two occasions they simply stopped without notice. Employer/carrier stated that the payment problems were caused by a computer "glitch," but ALJ Eblen noted that the computer and its programming were under employer's control and suggested that employer change its programming in order to avoid this type of unnecessary and stressful situation. Claimant was never placed in any job as a result of the alleged re-employment plan.
Employer/carrier argued that claimant did not cooperate with the re-employment plan because his cooperation was "passive" rather than "active."

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Daniel Hone vs. Geneva Rock and/or Royal & Sun Alliance
Case Number --20001061
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found there was no medical evidence indicating the 1995 injury was the cause of claimant's current back condition. Since claimant failed to prove his back pain arose from a work injury, the ALJ therefore dismissed his claim for permanent total disability benefits with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant suffered bulged discs with some desiccation at L2/3 and L3/4. He has a history of lower back pain and has undergone prior back surgery. He underwent a second failed lumbar fusion surgery after the 1995 injury. Claimant has not worked since his injury in 1995 because he cannot sit for any length of time. Dr. Root gave claimant a 12% related whole person impairment rating. Dr. Reichman, however, found little difference in claimant's condition after the 1995 aggravation when compared with his earlier back problems.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Virginius Dabney of Dabney & Dabney, St. George
Attorney(s) - Defense --Brad C. Betebenner of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Reichman
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured in 1995. He had been changing the screens in a rock crusher, which required him to crawl into the crusher with only thirty inches' clearance; unbolt the screens while lying down; and push and pull the 80-to-100-pound screens from awkward positions. He said he took a break and then went into the yard to begin loading 20-pound metal strips about 20 feet long into a front-end loader. He said as he twisted back from throwing the second strip into the loader, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his back. He finished his shift, but was unable to continue working past noon of the following day because of pain. He was unable to work thereafter, even after his second back surgery, because he cannot tolerate sitting for any sustained length of time.
Employer/carrier accepted liability and paid temporary total disability, permanent partial disability and medical benefits, accepting that the work activities which aggravated claimant's prior back condition were beyond those required in everyday life. However, employer/carrier contended that claimant's permanent total disability was caused by his previous back problems, not by the re-aggravation at work.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA: Work-related injury
Case Name --Jeannie Jackson vs. Rivers West Apparel and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --20001103
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ found that once confusion arose over the light duty work release, claimant should not have been required to return to work or penalized for not doing so until the confusion was resolved. The ALJ therefore ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $1,019.92 plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a right knee injury. Dr. Brady restricted her to no more than 4 hours at work, and Dr. Kimball gave her a light duty release. He later clarified this to mean claimant could operate her sewing machine with her other foot.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Bruce J. Wilson, Orem
Attorney(s) - Defense --Barbara W. Sharp
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Kirt Kimball; Dr. William Brady
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured 3/26/99. Employer/carrier accepted liability, but denied further temporary total disability compensation on grounds that claimant was released to light duty and was offered light duty work, but refused it. Employer understood the release to mean claimant could return to sitting at her sewing machine. Claimant stated she could not sit for hours without breaks to stand up, as operation of the sewing machine required; she stated she understood the light duty release to mean she could do office work so she could get up and walk around from time to time. Claimant was listed as a voluntary termination when she did not show up for work after this dispute arose. She acted promptly to clarify the release from Dr. Kimball, but the doctor was out of the office when she called, and by the time he returned, claimant had been terminated.

WORK INJURIES
Case Type --WA, MA, TA; Work-related motorcycle-truck accident
Case Name --Timmy Sheets vs. City of Moab and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --94851, 2000326
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 12/01
Amount --The ALJ wrote that under Utah law, there are no time limits on an employer/carrier's right to reimbursement from third-party settlement money for expenses and/or benefits paid to an injured worker. The ALJ ruled employer/carrier was liable to claimant for permanent total disability benefits of $304 per week for the period running from 7/21/94 through 7/21/2000, and must then pay claimant $304 per week or 36% of the current state average weekly wage, whichever is greater, for the rest of his life. These benefits are reducible by 50% of any Social Security retirement benefits claimant receives. The ALJ ordered that the $100,000 received from the third-party settlement must be offset against employer/carrier's liability to claimant, but claimant may first deduct the reasonable expenses of the civil action, including reasonable attorney's fees. The ALJ also ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's related medical expenses.
Injuries --Claimant sustained massive head trauma in the accident, and the ALJ who handled the case before ALJ La Jeunesse tentatively found claimant to be permanently and totally disabled.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --H. Deloyd Bailey, Provo
Attorney(s) - Defense --Elliot Morris
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was riding his motorcycle north on Main Street in Moab, in the course and scope of his employment, when a pick-up truck driven by a third party pulled in front of him and caused a collision. Employer/carrier admitted claimant was permanently and totally disabled, but reserved the right to submit a re-employment plan. Employer/carrier never submitted such a plan, and the parties eventually stipulated that the sole remaining issue disputed in the case was whether employer/carrier was entitled to an offset for the $100,000 in settlement money claimant recovered from the third party who caused the accident; claimant sued the third party in district court. Claimant contended in a motion for summary judgment that employer/carrier failed to take the necessary steps to recover their share of the money in a timely fashion. Employer/carrier claimed their right to the offset was absolute and not subject to a time limit.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Jeff D. Hofhine vs. Schuff Steel Company and Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Insurance
Case Number --99573
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's related medical expenses through 4/21/99 and also to pay for a three-month trial of Depakote or a calcium channel blocker to prevent claimant's migraine headaches. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant accrued temporary total disability compensation of $138.80 and accrued temporary partial disability benefits of $290.64; both payments are due in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Attorney's fees are to include 20% of the accrued interest on this award.
Injuries --Claimant contended that he suffered a brain injury; employer/carrier disputed this claim.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Timothy C. Allen
Attorney(s) - Defense --S. Brook Millard of Dunn & Dunn
Expert Witness(es) --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Thomas Schenkenberg; Dr. George Smith; Dr. John Foley; and Dr. John Hylen.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant, an iron worker, hit his head on one of the boards holding a handrail around the upper level of a work area while climbing a ladder to get to the work area at a construction site. Claimant fell four feet off the ladder, striking his chest and elbow, and lost consciousness for a few seconds. He revived, complained of dizziness and blurred vision, and then passed out again, after which his foreman called an ambulance. An accident report filled out by a former certified EMT said claimant was shaking violently, although he said he was not cold, and he appeared pale and was breathing in a "ragged" manner. Cervical spinal X-rays and a cranial CT scan were normal. After the accident claimant complained for some time of continuing headaches and vertigo which he felt made it unsafe for him to work. He eventually returned to his job as an iron worker.
Claimant had a prior history of head trauma with headaches. Because of this fact, and because most of claimant's diagnostic tests, both organic and cognitive, were normal, employer/carrier denied liability. However, electronystagmography confirmed claimant's complaint of vertigo and revealed hyperactive caloric responses.
The medical panel found the treatment claimant received was medically necessitated by his work injury until he stabilized three months and two days after the accident. The panel also recommended workers' compensation coverage for a three-month trial of Depakote or a calcium channel blocker to prevent claimant's migraine headaches.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Dan R. McKenzie vs. Southern Utah Fuel Company and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --991158
Court/Judge --Poelman
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found claimant made reasonable efforts to fulfill his obligations under the terms of the return-to-work plan, and employer/carrier should have modified the plan when it became obvious that claimant was not going to be able to comply with it. The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay for an updated functional capacity evaluation and review the return-to-work plan in light of the results, modifying it if needed. Claimant must continue to cooperate fully with the plan, and employer/carrier must pay claimant accrued subsistence benefits of $365 per week from 5/3/01 until the date of this order; accrued benefits are to be paid in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Regular payment of subsistence benefits must then continue until claimant completes the return-to-work plan or it is abandoned.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a back injury.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Wayne A. Freestone of Freestone & Angerhofer
Attorney(s) - Defense --Barbara W. Sharp
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Gaufin
Facts/Contentions --After claimant was injured, he and his employer reached a return-to-work agreement whereby employer/carrier was to pay claimant subsistence benefits while claimant was attending school to obtain his associate's degree and a bachelor's degree in accounting. However, though claimant registered for 12 credit hours in the fall semester, he stated that he had to discontinue a 3-hour evening class because of pain. After he realized that he was not going to be able to complete his course work in the time allotted by the plan, he spoke with his vocational rehabilitation counselor and offered to take summer classes to make up the required credit hours, but employer/carrier terminated his subsistence benefits on grounds that claimant was not cooperating fully with the return-to-work plan. Claimant produced a statement from Dr. Gaufin's office in which the doctor opined that claimant was unable to maintain a 12-hour class schedule because of his work-related low back pain, mid-back pain, neck pain and numbness of the hands, and would have to take a reduced number of hours each semester in order to satisfy the requirements for his degrees.

FALL
Case Type --WA, SF; Work-related fall
Case Name --(Name of case withheld)
Case Number --200022
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --Notwithstanding claimant's lack of credibility, the ALJ accepted the medical panel's findings and found claimant did actually suffer the failed surgery and attendant impairment. The ALJ found that self-insured employer overpaid claimant's temporary total disability benefits by $1,598.03. This figure was offset against the additional permanent partial disability benefits employer still owes claimant for her further 15% related whole person impairment, leaving a total balance owing of $2,608.51. This amount is due and payable in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer must also pay claimant's related medical expenses.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a knee injury which resulted in a failed total right knee arthroplasty. Claimant was left with a pronounced limp and a halting, lordotic gait. The medical panel gave claimant a 25% related whole person permanent impairment. Employer previously paid claimant for a 10% impairment.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --James C. Haskins of Haskins & Associates
Attorney(s) - Defense --Henry K. Chai II of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Alvin Wirthlin--neurologist; and Dr. Glen Momberger--orthopedic surgeon.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant fell down some stairs at a junior high school while picking up some supplies in the course of her employment. Claimant had pre-existing polio in the affected leg, contracted when she was five years old, but the fall caused a new right tibial plateau fracture which necessitated a total right knee arthroplasty. This surgery ultimately failed.
Self-insured employer contended that some of claimant's problems resulted from the earlier polio; however, the medical panel found the surgery was necessitated by the industrial fracture. The ALJ noted, however, that claimant impaired her credibility by embellishing the circumstances surrounding her disability with regard to non-significant details, even though a surveillance video refuted her claims.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Gil C. Sorensen vs. Ascend H R Solutions and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --2000738
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found that since claimant's physician documented the inappropriateness of the work offered in that it aggravated claimant's pre-existing symptoms, light duty work suitable to claimant's limitations was not really available to him. The ALJ therefore ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant additional accrued temporary total disability benefits of $1,272.65 in a lump sum plus interest.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a fractured fifth right metacarpal.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Lori Hansen
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Robert Horne
Facts/Contentions --After claimant broke his finger, he was offered light duty work by his employer and accepted it. However, he claimed the sitting involved in the light duty work aggravated his low back pain from a pre-existing vertebral compression fracture; he discontinued the light duty work and sought additional temporary total disability benefits.
Employer/carrier said no restrictions were placed on claimant, who could stand up or sit down at will while doing the light duty work. Employer/carrier contended that since light duty work was available and claimant refused to perform it, employer/carrier was not liable for any further disability benefits.
Claimant's doctor wrote a note stating that claimant could not perform the duties involved in the light duty work because they aggravated his low back pain.

REPETITIVE STRESS INJURY
Case Type --WA, SI; Work-related repetitive stress injury
Case Name --Juana Tellez vs. Artex International, Incorporated
Case Number --99556
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ accepted the medical panel's findings and dismissed the claims for benefits related to the carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, and cervical spinal injuries; however, the ALJ reserved the issue of claimant's possible entitlement to permanent partial impairment benefits related to the shoulder injury pending submission of a permanent impairment rating.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a right shoulder injury and also claimed she developed carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome and degenerative spondylolysis at C6/7.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Virginius Dabney of Dabney & Dabney, St. George
Attorney(s) - Defense --Thomas C. Sturdy of Blackburn & Stoll (Brad C. Betebenner of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson substituted during the pendency of this claim before the Labor Commission)
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel.
Facts/Contentions --Plaintiff worked for self-insured employer as an apron-folder, inspecting aprons, fold them and stacking them. She claimed the repetitive actions involved in this work caused all her symptoms, which came on suddenly one day after she placed the last bundle of aprons on top of a stack above shoulder-height. Claimant said she felt a pain as if something had burst in her shoulder, accompanied by a burning sensation in her face, neck and arm.
Employer accepted liability for the shoulder injury, but denied that claimant's carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome and cervical spine injuries were work-related.
The medical panel found claimant's shoulder symptoms were related to her work activities, but her other problems were not.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA: Work-related injury
Case Name --(Name of case withheld)
Case Number --97583
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Final order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found claimant could not be successfully rehabilitated and employer's re-employment plan was not reasonable or workable, never having been approved by the Labor Commission. The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant permanent total disability benefits of $354 per week for life. Employer/carrier must also pay for claimant's recommended lumbar spinal MRI.
Injuries --Claimant suffered multiple serious injuries, including lumbar spinal injuries, and takes methadone for pain.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --David W. Parker
Attorney(s) - Defense --Carrie T. Taylor of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured in the course and scope of his employment on 9/8/94. His claim was thereafter transferred between several ALJs, who afterward left the Labor Commission; during this time an order was issued awarding claimant temporary subsistence benefits pending a determination of permanent total disability. Employer/carrier, however, contended that claimant was capable of working and submitted a re-employment plan. The case was then assigned to ALJ Eblen. Claimant saw five separate vocational rehabilitation counselors at employer/carrier's behest and underwent surveillance and extensive testing and multiple evaluations. He claimed the counselors did not listen to him, did not make an effort to comprehend his situation or his limitations, and "treated [him] like a criminal." Claimant, who suffers from anxiety, depression and dyslexia, said he received no feedback or assistance with his job applications from his counselors and was severely stressed by the interminable evaluation and testing he was forced to undergo on top of his continuing pain. His psychologist had not been paid but continued to treat him because he did not feel claimant should be abandoned. Claimant said he was unable to rely on his subsistence benefit checks, because on two occasions they simply stopped without notice. Employer/carrier stated that the payment problems were caused by a computer "glitch," but ALJ Eblen noted that the computer and its programming were under employer's control and suggested that employer change its programming in order to avoid this type of unnecessary and stressful situation. Claimant was never placed in any job as a result of the alleged re-employment plan.
Employer/carrier argued that claimant did not cooperate with the re-employment plan because his cooperation was "passive" rather than "active."

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Daniel Hone vs. Geneva Rock and/or Royal & Sun Alliance
Case Number --20001061
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found there was no medical evidence indicating the 1995 injury was the cause of claimant's current back condition. Since claimant failed to prove his back pain arose from a work injury, the ALJ therefore dismissed his claim for permanent total disability benefits with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant suffered bulged discs with some desiccation at L2/3 and L3/4. He has a history of lower back pain and has undergone prior back surgery. He underwent a second failed lumbar fusion surgery after the 1995 injury. Claimant has not worked since his injury in 1995 because he cannot tolerate sitting for any length of time. Dr. Root gave claimant a 12% related whole person impairment rating. Dr. Reichman, however, found little difference in claimant's condition after the 1995 aggravation when compared with his earlier back problems.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Virginius Dabney of Dabney & Dabney, St. George
Attorney(s) - Defense --Brad C. Betebenner of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Reichman
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured in 1995. He had been changing the screens in a rock crusher, which required him to crawl into the crusher with only thirty inches' clearance; unbolt the screens while lying down; and push and pull the 80-to-100-pound screens from awkward positions. He said he took a break and then went into the yard to begin loading 20-pound metal strips about 20 feet long into a front-end loader. He said as he twisted back from throwing the second strip into the loader, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his back. He finished his shift, but was unable to continue working past noon of the following day because of pain. He was unable to work thereafter, even after his second back surgery, because he experiences pain upon sitting for any sustained length of time.
Employer/carrier accepted liability and paid temporary total disability, permanent partial disability and medical benefits, accepting that the work activities which aggravated claimant's prior back condition were beyond those required in everyday life. However, employer/carrier contended that claimant's permanent total disability was caused by his previous back problems, not by the re-aggravation at work.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA: Work-related injury
Case Name --Jeannie Jackson vs. Rivers West Apparel and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --20001103
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found that once confusion arose over the light duty work release, claimant should not have been required to return to work or penalized for not doing so until the confusion was resolved. The ALJ therefore ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $1,019.92 plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a right knee injury. Dr. Brady restricted her to no more than 4 hours at work, and Dr. Kimball gave her a light duty release. He later clarified this to mean claimant could operate her sewing machine with her other foot.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Bruce J. Wilson, Orem
Attorney(s) - Defense --Barbara W. Sharp
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Kirt Kimball; Dr. William Brady
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured 3/26/99. Employer/carrier accepted liability, but denied further temporary total disability compensation on grounds that claimant was released to light duty and was offered light duty work, but refused it. Employer understood the release to mean claimant could return to sitting at her sewing machine. Claimant stated she could not sit for hours without breaks to stand up, as operation of the sewing machine required; she stated she understood the light duty release to mean she could do office work so she could get up and walk around from time to time. Claimant was listed as a voluntary termination when she did not show up for work after this dispute arose. She acted promptly to clarify the release from Dr. Kimball, but the doctor was out of the office when she called, and by the time he returned, claimant had been terminated.

WORK INJURIES
Case Type --WA, MA, TA; Work-related motorcycle-truck accident
Case Name --Timmy Sheets vs. City of Moab and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --94851, 2000326
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ wrote that under Utah law, there are no time limits on an employer/carrier's right to reimbursement from third-party settlement money for expenses and/or benefits paid to an injured worker. The ALJ ruled employer/carrier was liable to claimant for permanent total disability benefits of $304 per week for the period running from 7/21/94 through 7/21/2000, and must then pay claimant $304 per week or 36% of the current state average weekly wage, whichever is greater, for the rest of his life. These benefits are reducible by 50% of any Social Security retirement benefits claimant receives. The ALJ ordered that the $100,000 received from the third-party settlement must be offset against employer/carrier's liability to claimant, but claimant may first deduct the reasonable expenses of the civil action, including reasonable attorney's fees. The ALJ also ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's related medical expenses.
Injuries --Claimant sustained massive head trauma in the accident, and the ALJ who handled the case before ALJ La Jeunesse tentatively found claimant to be permanently and totally disabled.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --H. Deloyd Bailey, Provo
Attorney(s) - Defense --Elliot Morris
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was riding his motorcycle north on Main Street in Moab, in the course and scope of his employment, when a pick-up truck driven by a third party pulled in front of him and caused a collision. Employer/carrier admitted claimant was permanently and totally disabled, but reserved the right to submit a re-employment plan. Employer/carrier never submitted such a plan, and the parties eventually stipulated that the sole remaining issue disputed in the case was whether employer/carrier was entitled to an offset for the $100,000 in settlement money claimant recovered from the third party who caused the accident; claimant sued the third party in district court. Claimant contended in a motion for summary judgment that employer/carrier failed to take the necessary steps to recover their share of the money in a timely fashion. Employer/carrier claimed their right to the offset was absolute and not subject to a time limit.

REPETITIVE STRESS INJURY
Case Type --WA, SI; Work-related repetitive stress injury
Case Name --Hussain Al-Malaki vs. LSG Sky Chefs and/or Lumberman's Mutual Casualty
Case Number --2000843
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ dismissed this claim with prejudice for claimant's failure to prove medical causation on either of his problems.
Injuries --Claimant was diagnosed with knee and ankle tendinitis, plantar fascitis, and bilateral enthesopathy of the tibia (shin splints). However, his doctors failed to connect these problems with his work duties and were unsure what caused them. Claimant also claimed he suffered industrially caused hearing loss, but he failed to produce any evidence of the decibel level at his workplace.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --David K. Smith
Attorney(s) - Defense --Theodore E. Kanell of Plant, Wallace, Christensen & Kanell
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Charles Canfield, MD; Letitia Archuleta, MD; Richard Gremillion, MD
Facts/Contentions --Claimant loaded food and culinary water aboard airplanes in the course of his employment. He stated that his leg problems were caused by the repetitive pulling, lifting and pushing involved in this process. Claimant loaded food on 17 airplanes a day, and water on four. The items he lifted weighed between 25 and 40 pounds, and he pulled them out of the cargo box and pushed them into the plane. He also jumped 2 or 3 feet to the ground off the back of the truck that took him to each plane. He also claimed the noise level at work caused his ears to hurt.
Employer/carrier contended that claimant failed to prove medical causation on any of his claims, His ear pain subsided when he took his medicine for infection, and the leg pain did not improve with rest.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Diane Brock Williams Dyer vs. Creekside Care Center and/or Utah Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Associations and Employers' Reinsurance Fund
Case Number --99624
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found claimant did not present any medical evidence to prove she needed a fourth surgery or that a fourth surgery had been recommended. Claimant also did not state that she wanted a fourth surgery. The ALJ therefore denied claimant's application for future medical care. As to the claims for temporary total disability compensation, the ALJ said the Utah Supreme Court has ruled that once an injured worker begins receiving permanent total disability benefits, that worker is held to have reached medical stability and is therefore no longer eligible for temporary total disability benefits. The ALJ therefore denied this claim with prejudice. The ALJ also denied the claim for unpaid medical expenses previously incurred for lack of evidentiary support.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a low back injury and underwent spinal fusion surgery at L4/5 and L5/S1. The L4/5 junction fused, but the L5/S1 fusion failed. Claimant subsequently underwent two further surgeries in an attempt to get the L5/S1 junction to fuse, but both surgeries failed.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --For Creekside/Utah Property: Henry K. Chai II of Blackburn & Stoll; for ERF: Deidre Marlowe
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured 9/7/84, and began receiving permanent total disability benefits pursuant to a stipulation between the parties on 3/4/91. She later filed this claim for additional temporary total disability benefits, incurred but unpaid medical expenses and recommended medical care, notably a fourth fusion surgery. The ALJ noted that although he gave claimant additional time to marshal her evidence after she appeared at the hearing with no support for her claims, she still had not produced any evidence to verify or support her claims at a second hearing. Claimant stated that the Utah Pain Management Clinic declined to see her further unless she had a fourth back surgery, but did not produce any evidence to support this claim. She has declined a fourth back surgery on previous occasions. Medical records from the Pain Management Clinic did not indicate that surgery had been recommended.

HARASSMENT
Case Type --SH; Sexual harassment
Case Name --(Name of case withheld)
Case Number --8000447
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ dismissed the request for an evidentiary hearing on the presumption that this claim has been withdrawn. Given the circumstances, the ALJ did not feel it appropriate to instigate any sanctions, such as awarding costs.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Kathleen W. Toth of Manning, Curtis, Bradshaw & Bednar
Facts/Contentions --Claimant originally filed this claim for sexual harassment with the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division (UALD), and UALD issued a determination and order based on a finding of no reasonable cause. Claimant thereupon filed a formal request for an evidentiary hearing. Employer filed a motion for sanctions based on claimant's failure to appear at a scheduled deposition. Two weeks after this motion was filed, claimant filed a letter stating that she thought she had withdrawn her complaint some time ago. The letter indicated claimant no longer intended to pursue action on this complaint.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Samuel James Smith vs. Donald W. Nelson; Janette J. Nelson; Jay Hites; Tennessee Log Homes; and Uninsured Employers' Fund
Case Number --2000574
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ determined that Utah law does not specifically exclude a person from being considered an employer simply because he or she is working on his or her own residence. However, the ALJ also found that to be considered an employer, a person must employ one or more workers pursuant to the regular practice of a trade, business, profession or occupation. The building of a single residence does not constitute such a practice; the ALJ therefore dismissed the claim against the Nelsons on grounds that they were indeed owner/builders and were therefore not claimant's employers. The ALJ also dismissed the claim against Hites on grounds that he was a co-worker, not an employer. Claimant originally named Tennessee Log Homes as a dba of the Nelsons, but this claim was never substantiated by any evidence, or even referred to seriously at the hearing, and the ALJ dismissed it as well.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a knee injury and underwent an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon autograft, partial medial meniscectomy, and limited synovectomy.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Daniel F. Bertch of Bertch Robson
Attorney(s) - Defense --The Nelsons were represented pro se; Hites was also represented pro se; for UEF: Sheryl Hayashi
Facts/Contentions --The Nelsons were building a log home in Heber after moving to Utah from California. They were issued an owner/builder certificate by the Utah Department of Commerce, and did not have a general contractor's license. The Nelsons used the general contractor's license of a third party and occasionally relied on the third party's advice. The Nelsons bought their home as a kit from Tennessee Log Homes, and no evidence was ever presented that Tennessee Log Homes had any more involvement than that in this claim. The Nelsons hired Hites, who was also not a contractor, to help with the roofing and framing. Claimant was asked by Hites to help him with this job. Claimant was injured while standing on a ladder and assisting Hites, who was working on the roof of the home. The ladder slipped, and claimant caught his knee in a rung. He hung upside-down with his left knee caught in the ladder rung until Hites helped him to get free. He sought medical care next day after his knee swelled and became painful. He claimed Hites or the Nelsons or both were his employers and sought workers' compensation benefits.
Hites denied that he ever worked as a contractor or owned his own business. Hites also claimed that he hired claimant at Donald Nelson's behest, and did not have authority to hire or fire anyone on the site. Donald Nelson paid claimant's wages in cash through Hites and provided al the power tools used on the construction, and Hites provided his own hand tools. Neither Hites nor the Nelsons had workers' compensation insurance. Hites and claimant negotiated claimant's hourly wage. Donald Nelson lived in a trailer on the site and gave day-to-day instruction to Hites, who in turn supervised claimant.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Paul White vs. Taylor Hunt Electric, Incorporated and/or Liberty Mutual Insurance and Ohio Casualty Company
Case Number --2001106
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ entered the default of Liberty Mutual after they failed to answer or appear at the hearing on this claim. The ALJ ordered Liberty Mutual to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $3,344.84, accrued temporary partial disability benefits in the amount of $779.43, and $5,288.40 in permanent partial disability benefits for his permanent impairment. All these awards shall be paid in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this amount and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Liberty Mutual must also pay claimant's related medical expenses, including the outstanding bills.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a left shoulder subacromial impingement and underwent a left shoulder subacromial decompression with arthroscopy. He suffered a previous work-related shoulder injury in 1997, and Dr. Hansen felt this incident was an aggravation of the pre-existing condition rather than a new occurrence. Dr. Zeluff gave claimant a 5% related whole person permanent impairment rating.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Ross E. McPhail, Bountiful
Attorney(s) - Defense --For Taylor Hunt/Ohio Casualty: Thomas C. Sturdy of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Robert P. Hansen--treating physician; Dr. Gary Zeluff--treating physician
Damages --Claimant produced evidence to substantiate $10,130.63 in unpaid medical bills.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was working for Taylor Hunt on construction of the Grand America Hotel. He was installing the hotel's security system, adding conduit to existing racks. To do this, he had to lift the conduit and hold the entire weight with his left hand while adding a strip with his other hand and screwing the new conduit onto the strip. The weight of each assembly was around 100 pounds and took all of claimant's strength to lift, and claimant testified that he attached extensions to each side of 20 assemblies that day, for a total of 40 lifts, each over 100 pounds. Claimant sought medical care the day after these exertions; he experienced pain the same evening, but found it did not respond to ibuprofen.
The ALJ found that claimant's activities in adding the conduit extensions met the Allen standard for extraordinary exertion, as is required by law in cases of re-injury or aggravation of a pre-existing condition.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Russell Love vs. Dixie Woodworks and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --99554
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found claimant suffered the industrial injury that led to the filing of this claim, and also found employer/carrier failed to prove claimant's pre-existing condition contributed to this injury. The actions which caused this injury therefore did not have to meet the Allen standard for extraordinary exertion. The ALJ accepted the medical panel's report and ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant $2,022.39 in accrued temporary partial disability benefits; $5,758.60 in accrued temporary total disability benefits; and $8,723.52 in permanent partial disability benefits for his 12% whole person permanent industrial impairment. All benefits are due and payable in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant's related medical expenses. The ALJ noted that though the medical panel felt no additional treatment is necessary at this time, a change in claimant's condition could trigger a need for additional care under the Commission's continuing jurisdiction.
Injuries --Claimant suffered bulged discs at L4/5 and L5/S1. He had a prior healed stress fracture at L4 from 1992 and also had some existing degenerative joint and disc disease. After this incident, claimant underwent two back surgeries.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Bruce J. Wilson, Orem
Attorney(s) - Defense --Mark D. Dean; later Floyd Holm
Expert Witness(es) --This case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. John Hylen; Dr. John Smith; and Dr; Richard Bromley.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant worked as a carpenter, making stair treads, risers and handrails. He noticed an onset of pain in his back and numbness in his legs while lifting a board for a bending rail onto a planer. He did not notice a specific incident. After work, he went to his other job, coaching high school wrestling practice. Because he did not feel well, so he did not wrestle himself, but merely coached the young people. Next day, he was supposed to help his family move, but he was in so much pain that his family insisted he seek medical attention before starting, and when he did, his doctor placed him on light duty restrictions. Claimant thereafter had to leave his job with Dixie as they had no work for him to do which did not involve lifting at least 45 pounds. Claimant went to work at an oil-change shop; he is still sore, but says the numbness in his legs is gone. He now cannot play sports, bend over, or stand or sit in certain positions for long periods, and he cannot always pick up and carry his child. At the time he was injured, claimant was assistant wrestling coach for the Jordan School District, and regularly worked out and wrestled with students during practice.
Employer/carrier did not attack claimant's credibility, but contended that at least part of his injury came from his wrestling activities or was an aggravation of the pre-existing injury from 1992.
The medical panel concluded that claimant's joint occupational exposure at Dixie and Jordan School District permanently re-aggravated his degenerative spinal disease. The panel also felt, however, that claimant suffered a separate industrial injury in the incident mentioned in this claim, and gave claimant a 12% whole person impairment rating, entirely attributable to the two surgeries following this incident, which the panel found were medically necessary to treat claimant's industrial injury. The panel concluded that of claimant's permanent partial impairment resulting from the permanent aggravation of his pre-existing degenerative disease, 50% resulted from his work at Dixie and 50% from his work at Jordan School District. However, the panel also found claimant had no ratable impairment due to pre-existing conditions prior to the industrial injury concerned in this claim. The panel found no future care is necessary to treat claimant's industrial injury.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Michael A. Smullin vs. Cogolink Wireless, Incorporated (uninsured) and Uninsured Employers' Fund
Case Number --2001575
Court/Judge --Hann
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found Cogolink Wireless was in default, insolvent, and in violation of Utah law because of its failure to maintain workers' compensation insurance on its employees. The ALJ ordered UEF to pay claimant's related medical expenses for this injury. The UEF retains the right to seek reimbursement of these expenses in full from Cogolink Wireless, and also has the right to impose a 15% penalty for Cogolink's failure to insure its employees as required by Utah statute.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a broken and lacerated finger.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Uninsured employer failed to answer or appear. For UEF: Sheryl Hayashi
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured 12/11/00 and did not lose more than three days from work. His employer failed to answer or appear at the hearing on his claim, and did not maintain workers' compensation insurance on its employees.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Kimberly Anderson vs. Big K Vending (uninsured) and Uninsured Employers' Fund
Case Number --2000834
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found claimant's employer was uninsured, but not insolvent, at the time claimant was injured. The ALJ ordered employer to pay claimant $2,063.68 in accrued temporary total disability benefits and $4,792.81 in accrued permanent partial disability benefits for her 7% permanent impairment. All benefits are due and payable in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer must also pay claimant's related medical expenses, with the exception of the treatments with Dr. Hanson; employer must further pay claimant's expenses for travel to medical appointments at 31 cents per mile.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a sprained right wrist. When her pain failed to resolve, she sought further care and was diagnosed at various times by different health care providers as having possible lateral epicondylitis, radial runnel syndrome, Wartenberg's syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, DeQuervain's tenosynovitis, extensor tendinitis of the dorsal right wrist, or interarticular pathology at wrist level (interosseus ligament or TFCC). Dr. Burrows recommended an MRI and electrodiagnostic studies by way of further evaluation, and the MRI indicated a TFCC ligament tear. Claimant failed to keep two of her physical therapy appointments; she said this fact was due to transportation problems. Dr. Colledge gave claimant a 7% related whole person impairment rating due to lack of decreased range of motion in the wrist, but felt that the sessions with Dr. Hanson were not medically necessary to treat claimant's industrial injury.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --David W. Parker
Attorney(s) - Defense --For Big K: Marci Rechtenbach of Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough; for UEF: Sheryl Hayashi
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Douglas Burrows; Dr. Houts; Keith Hanson, DC
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Alan Colledge--independent medical examination
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was employed as a route driver, loading the truck, driving it to the various vending machines on the route, loading product into the machines, and removing the money. As she was carrying wight cases of soft drinks, weighing a total of about 100 pounds, on a hand-truck to load into a machine, the hand-truck hit a dip and snapped claimant's wrist back. She reported the injury that evening, took two days off and sought medical care three days after she was injured. After she was injured, she was fired for inability to perform her job duties.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Brad Bailey vs. Menlove Construction and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --20001140
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ accepted the medical panel's report and concluded that claimant is not medically stable and needs further diagnostic evaluations as outlined by the medical panel. Employer/carrier must pay for these tests, and must also pay claimant $37,884.36 in accrued temporary total disability benefits plus interest. These benefits must continue at $509 per week until claimant reaches medical stability.
Injuries --Claimant was first diagnosed with right ulnar nerve entrapment and right rotator cuff tendinitis. Later nerve conduction studies indicated a demyelinating left ulnar neuropathy at the elbow and a possible soft disc herniation at C6/7. Dr. Muir recommended anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Hans M. Scheffler
Expert Witness(es) --Because of a large amount of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured while pulling a skylight into the roof of a commercial building being constructed by Menlove. One of the clamps holding the skylight broke, and claimant was left with the weight of the skylight suspended by a rope and a single clamp. The skylight measured 44 x 70 inches and weighed between 160 and 180 pounds, and a co-worker was pushing up on it when the clamp broke. Claimant reached out and grabbed the skylight with one hand while holding on to the rope in order to keep the skylight from knocking his co-worker off the ladder. Claimant was fired after he was injured for inability to perform his duties as working supervisor.
Employer/carrier admitted the accident occurred, but disputed the need for cervical fusion surgery.
The medical panel concluded that the recommended surgery may be reasonably necessary to treat claimant's industrial injury. The panel recommended that claimant receive a discogram or selective nerve root blocks and an MRI for diagnostic purposes. If these tests indicate surgery is not appropriate, the panel recommended limited physical therapy focusing on neck posture.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --James D. Henson Jr. vs. Geneva Steel and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --2001409
Court/Judge --Poelman
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ dismissed this claim without prejudice after claimant failed to appear at the scheduled pre-hearing conference.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Floyd W. Holm
Facts/Contentions --After claimant filed his request for a hearing on his claim, his employer filed a motion to dismiss, and the ALJ scheduled a pre-hearing conference to address the motion. Claimant failed to respond to the motion or appear at the pre-hearing conference.

SLIP
Case Type --WA, SF; Work-related slip
Case Name --Warren T. Jolley vs. A Plus Benefits; Credit General Insurance and Utah Property & Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association
Case Number --99842
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found the medical record indicated claimant had pre-existing degenerative joint disease in his foot. The ALJ found his credibility was questionable and his actions leading to injury did not meet the Allen standard; the ALJ therefore dismissed his claim with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant suffered an injury to his left foot and a sprained left ankle. He was eventually diagnosed with cellulitis of the left foot; an MRI revealed Charcot's joint, a cuboid stress fracture and a Type I partial tear of the posterior tibialis. He was also diagnosed with severe degenerative changes and deterioration of the joint, possibly as the result of a prior trauma.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --David J. Holdsworth
Attorney(s) - Defense --Thomas C. Sturdy of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Cortese; Dr. Knoebel--independent medical examination
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was a leased employee from A Plus Benefits who was working at Nelson Trucking. As he was climbing into the cab of his 35-foot end-dump truck after refueling it, he stated, his foot slipped off the step and he twisted his ankle. He was limping when he got home and later called Ask A Nurse, who advised him to rest, ice and elevate the foot and ankle. He felt extreme pain in the foot next morning when he tried to get out of bed, and sought medical attention. He said he did not report the injury when it occurred because there was no one there for him to report it to, but he stopped by work to report it on the way to the emergency room.
Employer/carriers denied that the incident occurred and argued that claimant's foot problems stemmed from pre-existing injuries. Employer/carriers further contended that claimant's actions which led to his injury did not meet the Allen test for extraordinary exertion, as is required in cases of pre-existing injury. Employer/carriers also pointed out that hospital records showed claimant first stated he was injured while jumping on a trampoline with his grandchildren and only later changed his story to reflect an industrial cause for his injury.

WORK INJURIES
Case Type --WA, MA, TA; Work-related motorcycle-truck accident
Case Name --Timmy Sheets vs. City of Moab and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --94851, 2000326
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ wrote that under Utah law, there are no time limits on an employer/carrier's right to reimbursement from third-party settlement money for expenses and/or benefits paid to an injured worker. The ALJ ruled employer/carrier was liable to claimant for permanent total disability benefits of $304 per week for the period running from 7/21/94 through 7/21/2000, and must then pay claimant $304 per week or 36% of the current state average weekly wage, whichever is greater, for the rest of his life. These benefits are reducible by 50% of any Social Security retirement benefits claimant receives. The ALJ ordered that the $100,000 received from the third-party settlement must be offset against employer/carrier's liability to claimant, but claimant may first deduct the reasonable expenses of the civil action, including reasonable attorney's fees. The ALJ also ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's related medical expenses.
Injuries --Claimant sustained massive head trauma in the accident, and the ALJ who handled the case before ALJ La Jeunesse tentatively found claimant to be permanently and totally disabled.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --H. Deloyd Bailey, Provo
Attorney(s) - Defense --Elliot Morris
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was riding his motorcycle north on Main Street in Moab, in the course and scope of his employment, when a pick-up truck driven by a third party pulled in front of him and caused a collision. Employer/carrier admitted claimant was permanently and totally disabled, but reserved the right to submit a re-employment plan. Employer/carrier never submitted such a plan, and the parties eventually stipulated that the sole remaining issue disputed in the case was whether employer/carrier was entitled to an offset for the $100,000 in settlement money claimant recovered in a district court action from the third party who caused the accident. Claimant contended in a motion for summary judgment that employer/carrier failed to take the necessary steps to recover their share of the money in a timely fashion. Employer/carrier claimed their right to the offset was absolute and not subject to a time limit.

REPETITIVE STRESS INJURY
Case Type --WA, SI; Work-related repetitive stress injury
Case Name --Hussain Al-Malaki vs. LSG Sky Chefs and/or Lumberman's Mutual Casualty
Case Number --2000843
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ dismissed this claim with prejudice for claimant's failure to prove medical causation on either of his problems.
Injuries --Claimant was diagnosed with knee and ankle tendinitis, plantar fascitis, and bilateral enthesopathy of the tibia (shin splints). However, his doctors failed to connect these problems with his work duties and were unsure what caused them. Claimant also claimed he suffered industrially caused hearing loss, but he failed to produce any evidence verifying the decibel level at his workplace.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --David K. Smith
Attorney(s) - Defense --Theodore E. Kanell of Plant, Wallace, Christensen & Kanell
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Charles Canfield, MD; Letitia Archuleta, MD; Richard Gremillion, MD
Facts/Contentions --Claimant loaded food and culinary water aboard airplanes in the course of his employment. He stated that his leg problems were caused by the repetitive pulling, lifting and pushing involved in this process. Claimant loaded food on 17 airplanes a day, and water on four. The items he lifted weighed between 25 and 40 pounds, and he pulled them out of the cargo box and pushed them into the plane. He also jumped 2 or 3 feet to the ground off the back of the truck that took him to each plane. He also claimed the noise level at work caused his ears to hurt.
Employer/carrier contended that claimant failed to prove medical causation on any of his claims. His ear pain subsided when he took his medicine for infection, and the leg pain did not improve with rest.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Morris Carter vs. Sportform Health and Fitness (self-insured)
Case Number --2000675
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/01
Amount --The ALJ found claimant suffered a compensable industrial injury; however, since his treatment provider failed to file the Restorative Services Authorization forms with the Commission, the ALJ denied payment of those bills dated after the date of submission of the last form as mandated by law. Under the law, the treatment provider also cannot require the injured worker to pay these bills.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a back injury.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Mark R. Sumsion and Brad C. Betebenner of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dan George, DC
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Brian Morgan, MD
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured while lifting concrete at work. Dr. Morgan released him to full-time sedentary work with no lifting over 10 pounds and found that all the chiropractic treatment he had received up to that point was medically necessary to treat his injury, but he also opined that claimant would be medically stable in six weeks after completing an aggressive physical therapy program of three treatments per week over four weeks. Claimant's chiropractor did not file Restorative Services Authorization (RSA) forms with the Labor Commission after claimant saw Dr. Morgan, but the chiropractor continued to treat claimant, giving him 19 more sessions. The RSA forms are required by the Commission, which made sure the chiropractor was aware of the Commission rule stating that if the forms are not filed, a treatment provider is not entitled to payment under workers' compensation law from the employer and cannot seek payment from the injured worker.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Dennis Christiansen vs. Robinson Transport and Industrial Indemnity
Case Number --98243
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found that claimant was permanently and totally disabled from the date of his work injury. The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant permanent total disability benefits of $240 per week beginning 12/4/99 and continuing until claimant's death or until further order of the Commission. Employer/carrier must also continue to pay all related medical expenses. Attorney's fees are to be deducted from the weekly disability payments, up to the maximum legal limit of $9,100, and sent directly to claimant's attorney.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Wayne Freestone of Freestone Angerhofer
Attorney(s) - Defense --Kendall P. Hatch and Mark A. Riekhof of Dunn & Dunn
Expert Witness(es) --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this matter was referred to a medical panel.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was injured at work on 1/16/98, and the parties disputed the treatment medically necessary and the question of claimant's alleged permanent total disability. Findings of fact, conclusions of law and an order for subsistence benefits were issued on 2/5/01, and employer/carrier were given 30 days to indicate whether they intended to file a re-employment plan. Employer/carrier originally indicated that they intended to file such a plan, but then in September of 2001 they withdrew their request to submit the plan and agreed that a final award for permanent total disability should be made.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Ellie Gibbons vs. J. C. Penney and Liberty Mutual Insurance
Case Number --2000534
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found that since claimant had a pre-existing meniscal tear, the Allen standard requiring proof of extraordinary exertion as the cause of injury would apply. Squatting and then standing up, the ALJ wrote, does not meet this test, since these activities might well be performed in the course of everyday life. The ALJ therefore dismissed this claim with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant was diagnosed with acute rupture of some portions of the gastrocnemius muscle and a suspected recurrent meniscal tear. Dr. Bean suspected a Grade I collateral ligament injury as well. Claimant had a pre-existing torn cartilage in the same knee and underwent previous arthroscopic surgery, but Dr. Bean indicated he did not think the earlier injury contributed to the current injury. Dr. Bean performed arthroscopic repair of a posterior bucket-handle tear of the lateral meniscus. At that time, claimant was also diagnosed with Grade III chondromalacia of the left knee and lateral tibial plateau, and Dr. Bean gave her an additional 3% related whole person impairment rating, as well as an additional 2% related whole person impairment rating for a total, as opposed to a partial, lateral meniscectomy.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Michael E. Dyer of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Charles Bean--orthopedist
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Kudrewicz--medical record review
Facts/Contentions --Claimant, who worked for employer as a hair stylist, stated she was squatting down to get something from a cabinet. When she stood up, she experienced pain down the outside of her left knee to the Achilles tendon. She sought medical treatment after getting home from work.

WORK STRESS CLAIM
Case Type --WA, ED; Work-related mental illness claim
Case Name --(Name of case withheld)
Case Number --991128
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/0
Amount --The ALJ noted that in order to prove entitlement to benefits for stress-related disorders caused by work activities, a claimant must prove she suffered an extraordinary stress from a sudden stimulus arising predominantly and directly from employment. Finding the dead man, the ALJ wrote, would fall outside the everyday experience of most Americans and could qualify as a trigger for such extraordinary stress. The requirements for legal causation were therefore met. The ALJ accepted the medical panel's finding of a medical causal link between the discovery of the body and claimant's depression, and ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $538.53, plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer/carrier must also pay all related medical expenses, including those for counseling, plus accrued mileage expenses of $173.60 an additional mileage expenses as accrued at 31 cents per mile. The ALJ reserved the issue of permanent partial disability, as claimant has not stabilized medically.
Injuries --Claimant contended that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but the medical panel found she suffered from industrially caused depression.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Marsha S. Atkin of Atkin & Atkin
Attorney(s) - Defense --Brad C. Betebenner of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
Expert Witness(es) --This case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Robert Burgoyne--psychiatrist; Dr. Thomas Schenkenberg--neuropsychiatrist; and Dr. Madison Thomas--neurologist.
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Michael Smith; Dr. David McCann--psychiatrist; independent medical evaluation
Facts/Contentions --Claimant worked at respondent county jail as a corrections officer, supervising inmate workers and also serving meals and distributing medications to inmates. Claimant said she went to go call an inmate who had been assigned to a work project but did not respond when paged three times. Claimant found the inmate on his bed, with a blanket covering him to his chin, a grimace on his open mouth and a greenish-grey color on his skin. Claimant did not touch the body, but called a co-worker and immediately left the room. The inmate was determined to have died of a heroin overdose. Claimant stated that after she found the dead man, who was "a real person" to her rather than just an inmate, she felt guilty because the man apparently obtained the heroin while he was outside the jail with an earlier work party for which claimant selected him. Claimant knew the dead man's girlfriend and family. Claimant was off work on administrative leave for two weeks and received 14 counseling sessions, but later sought further help because she said she kept seeing images of the dead man in her mind during the day and in nightmares while sleeping. She had extreme difficulty continuing in her job, but continued to try to come to work.
Employer contended that claimant suffered from non-industrial depression rather than PTSD, and two physicians supported this diagnosis. A supervisor wrote the insurance adjuster that claimant did not show any signs of stress or depression before she discovered the dead man.
The medical panel found there was a medically demonstrable causal connection between claimant's symptoms and her discovery of the dead man at work. However, the panel found, this discovery caused depression, not PTSD. The panel found that past medical care was necessary, and future medical care would also be necessary, to treat claimant's condition. It was suggested that claimant receive another three months of medication and counseling to focus on the anger generated by the circumstances surrounding her discovery of the body.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Scott Roy vs. Iasis Health Care/Davis Hospital and Kemper Insurance Company
Case Number --2000680
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found that the incident that caused claimant's pain satisfied the Allen requirement for extraordinary exertion as is required in cases involving pre-existing injury. The ALJ found that the only medical opinion that the surgery was not necessary to treat claimants industrial injury came from Dr. Marble, who merely conducted a record review and did not examine claimant. The therefore found Dr. Marble's opinion was not sufficient to create a medical controversy requiring referral to a medical panel. Since the surgery was necessary to treat claimant's industrial injury, the ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant's medical expenses, including the costs of the surgery. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $10,695.35 and accrued permanent partial disability benefits of $15,865.20 for his 15% related whole person impairment. All benefits are to be paid in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a herniated disc at C5/6 which was surgically repaired. Dr. Hood, the treating surgeon, noted degenerative changes in claimant's cervical vertebrae, but added that these conditions did not require surgery. The operation was performed solely to correct the industrial injury. Claimant was given a 15% related whole person impairment rating by Dr. Hood.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --W. Scott Lithgoe, Ogden
Attorney(s) - Defense --Mark A. Riekhof of Dunn & Dunn
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Hood--treating surgeon; Dr. Chowdhury--neurologist
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Stephen Marble--independent medical record review
Facts/Contentions --Claimant, who works as an RN, was assigned to the ICU at Davis Hospital. He said he heard a thud from one of the rooms and found an ambulance crew had dropped a 6-foot, 219-pound patient on the floor while transferring the patient from the ambulance gurney to a hospital bed. Claimant, who is 5' 7" and weighs 185 pounds, got behind the patient, lifted him under the arms to a standing position at about shoulder height, and got him onto the gurney, which was 2 feet off the floor. Claimant did not experience an immediate onset of pain or file an accident report, but instead finished his 12-hour shift. Claimant was working on remodeling his house, but could not use the industrial sander due to his neck pain. Claimant reported the accident a week to 10 days after the incident after he slept on a couch and woke with a kink in his neck, which persisted and finally became excruciating. Electrodiagnostic tests were abnormal, and claimant was referred to Dr. Hood, who diagnosed a disc herniation on top of an osteophyte and performed surgery. Dr. Hood opined that the surgery was medically necessitated by the industrial lifting incident. Claimant was unable to work for one month before and four months after the surgery.
Employer/carrier contended that claimant's neck condition was pre-existing and claimed the surgery was performed to repair degenerative osteophytic ridging at C5/6.

REPETITIVE STRESS INJURY
Case Type --WA, SI; Work-related repetitive stress injury
Case Name --James F. Sevy vs. ZCMI nka May Company (self-insured) and/or Fireman's Fund Insurance Company and/or Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --2000530
Court/Judge --La Jeunesse
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found that the treatment claimant received was medically necessitated by his industrial injury and ordered ZCMI/May to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $7,111.02; WCF is at least partially liable for $5,641.02 of these benefits. ZCMI/May/WCF must also pay claimant accrued permanent partial disability benefits of $19,651.83 for his 31% industrial upper extremity impairment. All benefits are to be paid in a lump sum plus interest. ZCMI/May/WCF must also pay claimant's related medical expenses.
Injuries --Claimant suffered bilateral cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome and underwent corrective surgery.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --For ZCMI/May: Henry K. Chai II of Blackburn & Stoll; for Workers' Compensation Fund: Barbara W. Sharp
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Provost
Expert Witness(es) - Defense --Dr. Dall
Facts/Contentions --Claimant worked for ZCMI, which was later acquired by May, for ten years as a fabric cutter and thirteen years as an upholsterer in the store's furniture department. He complained of problems with his hands and arms and took sick leave for this pain as early as 1985, but did not undergo surgery until 2000. He was also diagnosed with Guyon's canal nerve root entrapment.
WCF contended that the statute of limitations for claimant's reporting of his industrial injury ran from 1988, when claimant requested but did not take leave of absence from his work due to pain in his hands and arms. WCF argued that it should thus be dismissed from the action. Employer contended that claimant's problems were due to an occupational disease rather than an industrial accident, but the ALJ noted that the Utah Supreme Court has classified repetitive traumas as injuries, not accidents. The ALJ also found that claimant met the reporting requirement of the Workers' Compensation Act as early as 1985 when he told ZCMI of his hand and arm pain, even though his employer talked him into taking sick leave rather than workers' compensation because the sick leave would pay 100% of his salary. No evidence indicated whether ZCMI filed the requisite report of work-related injury at that time, but the ALJ doubted that the form was filed because claimant did not seek benefits at that time.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Paula M. Thornton vs. Salt Lake Community College and Workers' Compensation Fund
Case Number --2000879
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $1,779.48 in a lump sum plus interest and less any temporary partial disability benefits already paid.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a severe impingement with a partial thickness rotator cuff tear in her right shoulder, with calcification of both the bursa and tendon and significant bursal effusion. She underwent arthroscopic anterior decompression surgery, and Dr. Berman gave her a related 5% whole person impairment rating.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Lori Hansen
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Dr. Berman
Facts/Contentions --Claimant, who worked in food preparation, was injured while delivering coffee and snacks to a conference on the second floor in a freight elevator. She was pulling the elevator doors closed, and they were very heavy and hard to move. Claimant experienced an immediate onset of shoulder pain.
Employer/carrier accepted liability for the injury and paid for the surgery and impairment, but claimed they were not liable for further temporary total disability benefits because claimant was offered light duty work and refused it. Employer/carrier terminated claimant when she did not return to work.
The ALJ found claimant was not aware of her release to light duty work because Dr. Berman's office never gave her a release form to take to her employer. Claimant was therefore understandably reluctant to take on the light duty work, and the ALJ found she was not really "offered" the light duty work under these circumstances, since claimant was never advised by anyone of her mandatory return-to-work date.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Beverly S. Workman vs. Intracorp and Ace USA
Case Number --2000917
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 1/02
Amount --The ALJ found that claimant's pregnancy and prior history of miscarriages constituted a pre-existing condition, but claimant's actions when she had the flat tire did not satisfy the Allen requirement for extraordinary exertion as is required in industrial injury claims where pre-existing conditions are present, since anyone might have a flat tire in the ordinary course of modern non-employment life. The ALJ therefore dismissed this claim with prejudice.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a miscarriage and a uterine wall rupture and was hospitalized for six days.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Michael E. Dyer of Blackburn & Stoll
Facts/Contentions --Claimant was pregnant and had a history of multiple prior miscarriages. She was working a 20-hour week, driving on I-15 to see a patient in Payson during major road construction, when she had a flat tire. She had a difficult time finding a place to pull off the road, but finally managed it and was helped by another traveler who loaded claimant's car onto his tilt-trailer and took it and claimant to a garage and then to a tire shop. Claimant suffered an onset of pre-term labor and a uterine wall rupture.
Employer/carrier denied benefits, contending that claimant's actions in regard to the flat tire did not meet the Allen test for exertions beyond those required of people in the course of everyday non-employment life.

DISCRIMINATION
Case Type --DS, Discrimination claim
Case Name --Marion E. App vs. Mervyn's California
Case Number --8980674
Court/Judge --This order was issued by the Appeals Board of the Labor Commission.
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 3/02
Amount --The Board remanded this matter to the ALJ, reasoning that the Board does not yet have jurisdiction since it is for the ALJ to make the decision on whether a new hearing is warranted. If the ALJ denies Mervyn's request for a new hearing, Mervyn's may then seek review by the Board or the Labor Commissioner.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Mervyn's was represented by its in-house legal department.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant alleged that Mervyn's discriminated against claimant in the matter of claimant's employment. ALJ La Jeunesse conducted a hearing on the matter, at which Mervyn's did not appear. Relying on claimant's undisputed testimony, the ALJ found Mervyn's unlawfully discriminated against claimant in the terms and conditions of her employment. The ALJ ordered Mervyn's to cease the discriminatory practice, pay claimant's back wages, and reinstate claimant in a suitable employment position.
Mervyn's filed a motion for review, claiming it never received notice of the scheduled hearing and asking that a new hearing be rescheduled.

WORK-RELATED DEATH
Case Type --WD, WA; Work-related death benefits claim
Case Name --Clarice Brown, widow of Melvin Brown, vs. Sears Roebuck Company and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Case Number --2001953
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 3/02
Amount --Since claimant failed to respond to the ALJ's request for necessary medical documentation which would allow the claim to be adjudicated, the ALJ dismissed this claim.
Injuries --Claimant's husband died of congestive heart failure, acute-on-chronic renal failure and adult-onset-type diabetes mellitus. These causes were listed on the death certificate.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Claimant was represented pro se.
Attorney(s) - Defense --Theodore E. Kanell of Plant, Wallace, Christensen & Kanell
Facts/Contentions --Claimant filed this application for dependent benefits in connection with the death of her husband, who was injured March 17, 1980 and was receiving permanent total disability benefits at the time of his death. These benefits were paid by the Employers' Reinsurance Fund, which contended that it had no liability to pay death benefits under the law which was in effect on the date of Melvin Brown's death.
Sears filed a motion to dismiss based on lack of evidence supporting a causal connection between Melvin Brown's back injury in 1980 and the conditions that caused his death. In keeping with the Commission's rules the ALJ asked claimant to submit supporting medical evidence to prove her contention, and claimant failed to do so.

INDUSTRIAL INJURIES/FALL
Case Type --WA, SF; Work-related injuries, slip/fall
Case Name --Donald Clawson vs. Chums Ltd. and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Case Number --99950
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 3/02
Amount --The ALJ found that the second accident satisfied the Allen test for extraordinary exertion as is required in cases involving pre-existing injury. The ALJ therefore ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $4,158.63 and accrued permanent partial disability benefits of $9,481.25. These benefits are to be paid to claimant in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant's related medical expenses, including those for the knee replacement surgery.
Injuries --Claimant suffered left knee injuries and underwent two surgeries, including and arthroscopic meniscal repair and a total surgical knee replacement.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Aaron J. Prisbrey, St. George
Attorney(s) - Defense --Dori K. Petersen of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff -- Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. Madison Thomas and Dr. Owen Smoot.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant stated he was injured twice while working in his employer's packing and shipping areas; he also supervised the knitting and invert room. The first time he was climbing stairs and his knee "went out" on him, so that he was unable to walk or bend the knee. The second time he tripped over the edge of a rubber mat and fell while carrying a 70-pound box, landing on a concrete floor. The box landed on his left leg and knee.
Employer/carrier contended that neither the first nor the second surgery was necessitated by industrial causes, instead arguing that the changes in claimant's knee were degenerative and pre-existing.
The medical panel found the surgeries--especially the second surgery--were necessitated by claimant's industrial injuries. The ALJ found that claimant did have a pre-existing condition, but also found that a fall while carrying a 70-pound box, which then struck claimant on the knee, could not be made to correspond to any normal activity a person might encounter in everyday life; this injury therefore satisfied the Allen test for extraordinary exertion.

WORK-RELATED DEATH
Case Type --WA, WD; Work-related death benefits claim
Case Name --Jessie B. Conover, widow of Donald L. Conover, vs. White Consolidated Industries and Reliance Insurance
Case Number --99995
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 3/02
Amount --The ALJ accepted the medical panel's finding and dismissed this claim with prejudice based on the panel's failure to find a causal connection between the treatment of decedent's industrial injury and the embolism that caused his death.
Injuries --Claimant's husband died of a pulmonary embolism; cause of the embolism was disputed.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Virginia Curtis Lee
Attorney(s) - Defense --Dori K. Petersen of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel consisting of Dr. John Hylen--cardiologist and internist and Dr. Richard Bromley--orthopedist.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant's husband was receiving permanent total disability benefits and had both left and right prosthetic knee joints from an earlier work-related vehicular accident. He died suddenly on September 29, 1999, and the parties disputed the cause of his death. His widow claimed he died because of a "foreign body" embolism that resulted from the de-lamination of the polyethylene in his left knee prosthesis, part of which migrated through his veins to his lung and killed him; employer/carrier contended that the embolism occurred due to natural, non-industrial causes. The prosthesis was 12 years old at the time of decedent's death. The parties agreed by stipulation to the referral of the case to a medical panel.
The medical panel found no causal connection between the medical treatment necessitated by the decedent's industrial injury and the pulmonary embolism that caused his death.

WORK INJURY
Case Type --WA; Work-related injury
Case Name --Jill A. Jacobson vs. United Parcel Service and/or Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Case Number --981015
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 3/02
Amount --The ALJ accepted the medical panel's report and ordered employer/carrier to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $548.61 plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Employer/carrier must also pay claimant's medical expenses, including those for chiropractic treatment, incurred through September 1, 1998. Any expenses incurred after that date are claimant' responsibility.
Injuries --Claimant suffered a lower back injury.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Stephen W. Cook
Attorney(s) - Defense --Dori K. Petersen of Blackburn & Stoll
Expert Witness(es) - Plaintiff --Because of conflicting medical testimony, this case was referred to a medical panel.
Damages --In addition to other benefits, claimant sought medical benefits in the amount of $1,674.40 for chiropractic treatment with Dr. Finsand.
Facts/Contentions --Claimant stated she injured her back while pulling very heavy packages from under trailer rollers on July 22, 1998, exacerbating a pre-existing non-industrial degenerative lower back condition. Employer/carrier initially accepted liability for the injury, but later denied the claim because of claimant's pre-existing back condition. Employer/carrier contended that claimant reached medical stability from the temporary exacerbation of this condition within two to three weeks of the accident. Employer/carrier also disputed the necessity for the chiropractic treatments claimant received. Claimant argued that she did not stabilize until January 11, 1999.
The medical panel found that claimant reached medical stability on September 1, 1998; however, the panel also found that the chiropractic treatment claimant received prior to this date was medically necessary to treat her industrial injury.

WORK INJURIES/TRUCK ACCIDENT
Case Type --WA, TA; Work-related injuries, truck accident
Case Name --Marshall J, Moore vs. Riverbend Express and/or Workers' Compensation Fund and/or BICO; Dat's Trucking and/or Transamerica Insurance and/or Workers' Compensation Fund; and Dalton Brothers Trucking and Wasatch Crest
Case Number --98967, 98968, 99035, 99036, 2000105
Court/Judge --Eblen
Verdict/Settlement --Order, 3/02
Amount --The ALJ accepted the medical panel's report and also found that claimant's aggregated activities exceeded the exertions of everyday life and thus met the Allen test for extraordinary exertion as is required in cases involving a pre-existing injury or condition. The ALJ reserved the issue of permanent partial impairment and dismissed Dat's/WCF and Dat's/Transamerica from the action on grounds that they bore no liability for the broken-air-ride-seat incident at Riverbend that exacerbated claimant's pre-existing back injury and also bore no liability for the roll-over at Dalton. The ALJ also dismissed BICO from the action, since it was not the workers' compensation coverage carrier of record for Riverbend at the time the air-ride-seat incident occurred. The ALJ ordered Riverbend/WCF to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $8,000.92 in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Riverbend/WCF must also pay all medical expenses related to the air-ride-seat incident, including the costs of the recommended fusion surgery. The ALJ ordered Dalton/Wasatch Crest to pay claimant accrued temporary total disability benefits of $4,842.73 for the time he was off after the roll-over; benefits are payable in a lump sum plus interest and less attorney's fees, which are to be deducted from this award and paid directly to claimant's attorney. Dalton/Wasatch Crest must also pay all medical expenses related to the necessary treatment of the reinjuries sustained in the roll-over.
Injuries --Claimant suffered several lumbar spinal injuries, and fusion surgery has been recommended.
Attorney(s) - Plaintiff --Aaron J. Prisbrey, St. George
Attorney(s) - Defense --For Riverbend/WCF: Elliot K. Morris; for Riverbend/BICO: Brad C. Betebenner of Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson; for Dat's/Transamerica: