Claimant is a 37-year-old woman who was employed by Employer as a cake decorator. Her job duties consisted of rolling large cauldron bowls of icing into the cake room, and tilting the bowls so that the icing would fill five-gallon buckets which were then sealed. She also decorated cakes, cleared the cake area, and loaded cakes into large trays. Claimant testified that she spent about two hours of her day lifting.
On February 11, 2000, Claimant was attempting to lift one side of a large, cauldron bowl of icing with a partner, when the rolling gurney underneath the bowl moved. She tried to keep the icing bowl from falling when she then heard a pop in her back and felt immediate pain in her lower back and right hip. Claimant was able to complete her shift, but later that day she began to have complaints of pain down her right leg.
Claimant testified she first received authorized treatment from Acute Care Center. The records note she treated with Dr. Prusacyk who diagnosed her with a lumbar and right hip strain. Claimant was prescribed medication, underwent lumbar and right hip x-rays, which were negative, and followed up for three visits to the Acute Care Center. Dr. Prusacyk also ordered a course of water therapy at the Aquatic Fitness Center. On March 2, 2000, she noted continued lumbar complaints with right sciatica. She was then referred to Dr. Samson.
Dr. Samson first examined Claimant on March 9, 2000. Dr. Samson diagnosed right sciatica and ordered an MRI of her back and her hip. The MRI was taken on March 9, 2000 and revealed mild mid-line degenerative disc change at L5-S1. Dr. Samson's report dated March 16, 2000 noted that the MRI revealed degenerative disc disease at L5-S1, but no disc herniation. An MRI obtained of Claimant's right hip was negative for any abnormalities. Dr. Samson diagnosed Claimant with a right hip and back strain on March 20, 2000.
Claimant did not return to Dr. Samson until July 12, 2000. Although she noted some complaints in her low back and right hip, Dr. Samson noted she really sought treatment that day due to chest pain. After examination, Dr. Samson had no further recommendations for care of her right hip or back, and he opined Claimant's chest pain was unrelated to the February 2000 incident. Dr. Samson diagnosed right hip and back strain and right anterior chest wall pain.
On November 13, 2000, Dr. Samson opined that Claimant has sustained a right hip and low back strain from the February 2000 incident. He assessed her with a 2 % permanent partial disability based on her ongoing complaints.
Following her release from Dr. Samson, Claimant did not seek any additional medical treatment for her back and hip until March 2002, and other than two or three days immediately following her work accident, Claimant did not miss any time from work until February 2003, approximately three years after the accident.
Claimant continued to work as a cake decorator doing her normal job duties after February 11, 2000. Claimant had assistance putting the cake trays on the rolling cart. She also noted that the job duties of all the cake decorators changed, as they no longer had to lift the cauldrons of icing to place the icing into the buckets. However, she continued to lift on a daily basis in her job duties at Employer.
Claimant testified that she left her job at Employer because she wanted to move into management and make more money. In her application for employment at Home Depot, Claimant stated that she left her employment at Employer because she wanted to be closer to home. Neither her hearing testimony, nor her Home Depot application, mention that she left Employer due to continued back pain. The only record which notes she left her employment at Employer because of her work injury is in Dr. Gornet's medical record dated October 7, 2002, approximately two years after the incident.
When Claimant was hired at Home Depot, she signed a job profile for a department sales person on November 28,
- By signing this profile, she agreed that her job at Home Depot had physical requirements, including the need to climb ladders, bend, stoop, twist, reach, and climb. Her agreement also stated she may have to lift up to 95 pounds without assistance. By signing this document on November 28, 2000, Claimant agreed that she understood these requirements and was able to complete them.
At Home Depot, Claimant worked full time setting up a new store from December 2000 until January 10, 2001. She hung wallpaper, put out carpet samples, stocked shelves, and placed small tools in their appropriate locations. She constantly stacked and moved things during the set-up of the store. Claimant also agreed that she had to bend over and open boxes during this set up. Claimant did not miss any work during this time period nor did she seek any treatment for back or right hip pain.
Claimant also testified that after the Home Depot store opened, she continued to work in the wallpaper department as a sales associate, which required her to stock wallpaper. Claimant also moved a heavy cart stacked with boxes once per week. She testified that she never sought any treatment for her back or right hip while working in the wallpaper department.
Claimant also testified that Home Depot required the use of heavy machinery. She operated a forklift, a dolly, a handcart machine, and a picker machine. When using the forklift, Claimant had to scoot items onto or off a platform. These items included boxes of tile, toilets, vanities, and tub enclosures.
In addition to working in the wallpaper department, Claimant testified that she was first promoted to kitchen designer, then to a supervisor, and finally to an assistant store manager at Home Depot. When Claimant was promoted to supervisor at Home Depot, she signed a new agreement on August 20, 2001. By signing this agreement, she agreed that she could do things such as bend, stoop, lift, reach, and climb ladders. She noted that as a supervisor she would have to fill in for employees in other departments as needed, and that as a store manager she is on her feet all day.
Claimant also testified that she painted multiple walls in her home and put up wallpaper border in her kitchen and her son's bedroom in 2001. Her painting required her to use a ladder.
Claimant also played in one-half of a roller hockey game approximately 12 months after the accident at Employer. She stated she warmed up prior to the game and played as a goalie. As a goalie, Claimant testified that she wore a helmet, gloves, chest protector, and leg pads.
Additionally, Claimant testified to a subsequent accident at Home Depot on November 30, 2002 while moving toilet bowls. Claimant was sliding toilet bowls across a pallet, and there were approximately 20 toilets per pallet. While scooting the toilet bowls across the pallet, one fell on her foot and she sustained a toe fracture.
Claimant did not seek any further treatment for her low back or right hip after her release from Dr. Samson until her examination by Dr. Weis on March 22, 2002, more than two years after the incident in February 2000. Dr. Weis ordered a second MRI of the lumbar spine on April 1, 2002 which revealed disc desiccation and a disc protrusion at the L5-S1 level. Claimant then did not seek treatment until October 7, 2002, when she was examined by Dr. Gornet.
In Dr. Gornet's initial examination of Claimant on October 7, 2002, he noted Claimant had complaints of low back pain, as well as right leg pain and left leg numbness. There is no mention of left leg complaints in any prior medical records. He reviewed the April 2002 MRI, noting disc dehydration at L5-S1 and that she had a high intensity lesion not mentioned in the MRI report, which he opined was classic of an annular tear which was central and more toward the left. Dr. Gornet then recommended surgery for Claimant's lumbar spine.
Dr. Gornet obtained a third MRI of Claimant's lumbar spine on January 14, 2003. Dr. Gornet opined that the MRI scan revealed a high intensity zone lesion, loss of disc height and changes in disc hydration at L5-S1.
On February 12, 2003, approximately three years after the incident, Dr. Gornet performed an anterior decompression and lumbar fusion at L5-S1. Following her surgery, Claimant continued to follow up with Dr. Gornet. She missed work at Home Depot from February 12, 2003 through March 11, 2003 to recover from the surgery. Dr. Gornet also ordered a course of physical therapy. On April 22, 2005, Dr. Gornet opined that Claimant did not need to return for any follow-up visits for one year. In a report dated May 9, 2005, he opined that Claimant's February 2000 work injury was the substantial factor in causing her need for surgical treatment. The cost of the treatment rendered by Dr. Gornet totaled $\ 19,830,08.
Presently, Claimant testified that she notices numbness in her right leg when driving for long periods of time. She stated she continues to have some complaints of low back pain, but that her pain has decreased. She takes over the counter medications for pain.
On May 22, 2000, Dr. Margolis examined Claimant at the request of her attorney. On physical examination, he noted Claimant had full range of motion without spasm and that her straight leg raising was negative bilaterally. She had tenderness in the right hip. After examination of Claimant, her March 2000 MRI reports of the back and right hip, and both Acute Care's and Dr. Samson's records, Dr. Margolis provided a report dated June 26, 2000 where he opined claimant suffered a right hip sprain/strain and lumbar strain/sprain. He provided a permanent partial disability rating of 20 % of the body as a whole for the low back, and 25 % of the right lower extremity for the right hip. His report made no recommendations for further treatment.
Dr. Margolis saw Claimant three years after his evaluation and provided additional reports dated June 30, 2003 and August 3, 2004. He then related the surgery and need for treatment to the incident in February 2000. Dr. Margolis then issued a new permanent partial disability rating of 45 % of the body as a whole for the low back injury.
Dr. Gornet testified on behalf of Claimant. He agreed that his initial examination of Claimant was two years and 8 months after the initial incident in February 2000. He also agreed that when Claimant received authorized treatment with Dr. Samson, he had diagnosed a right hip and back stain. Dr. Gornet testified that in his initial examination of Claimant she had left leg numbness. He agreed that Dr. Samson's medical records make no mention of left leg complaints and that this is a new complaint. He also agreed there was no mention of left leg numbness from the Aquatic Fitness Center records.
Dr. Gornet testified he felt he obtained an accurate history from Claimant. However, he agreed he did not ask Claimant how long she worked at Employer after the injury and was not aware of the extent of the physical demands of her present job.
Dr. Samson testified on behalf of Employer. Dr. Samson testified that he provided a supplemental report dated October 22, 2004, after Claimant had surgery with Dr. Gornet. Dr. Samson testified that, although Dr. Gornet indicates the surgery was needed due to the high intensity zone seen in the MRI, he opined that high intensity zones are not a constant, and difficult to provide the basis to perform surgery. His report noted he would not recommend a lumbar fusion for a high intensity zone, and opined the surgery performed by Dr. Gornet was not the result of the February 11, 2000 incident.