Claimant is a 59 year old woman who lives with her brother in St. Louis City. She is right handed, approximately 5'4" tall, and weighs about 140 pounds. A smoker since the age of 16, Claimant has cut her four packs a day habit down to one a day. Claimant left high school after the eleventh grade to start working. She did not obtain her GED, enroll in college, or have any further training, other than to become a security guard. For most of her life, Claimant was a receiving clerk, but her other vocational experience is as a bus girl, and a lead person with a cleaning agency.
For three decades, Claimant worked full time as a receiving clerk, first at Venture, and since the 1990's with Employer. Her job duties involved unloading boxes from trucks, ticketing, and taking merchandise to the floor. Claimant used a cart to transport merchandise, and a scanning gun to check prices. She had to lift up to 80 pounds, sometimes with help. Other activities included sweeping the floor, performing SKU counts, and watching fitting rooms.
On April 7, 2005, while unloading a truck, Claimant picked up a box, tripped over a cart, fell into the bed of the truck, and got stuck between the truck and the cart, hurting her left shoulder. On April 11, 2005, she began receiving conservative treatment at Barnes Care. Following an abnormal MRI, Employer authorized treatment with Dr. Haupt, who performed arthroscopic shoulder surgery on July 12, 2005, with physical therapy following at Pro-Rehab. His diagnosis was left shoulder impingement, acromioclavicular joint inflammation and fraying of various tendons. Dr. Haupt released Claimant to light duty in July, and full duty in late September 2005. He placed Claimant at MMI on October 17, 2005 with a forty pound lifting restriction, and rated her disability at 6 % of the left arm at the shoulder.
Following her shoulder surgery, Claimant worked for three months as a receiving clerk, although she said she did not perform as well. In late November 2005, Claimant stopped working to undergo a low back fusion for a condition unrelated to the April 7, 2005 accident.
Claimant's complaints with respect to her left shoulder include constant, "toothache like pain" that becomes worse when weather changes. Occasionally, Claimant experiences "pins and needles." Claimant cannot lift any significant weights, her range of motion is limited, and she cannot lie on her left side at all. Claimant reports her average pain is five on the ten-point scale, although the pain level fluctuates. Claimant takes Aleve up to four times per day, which relieves, but does not remove, the pain. Claimant is limited in activities of daily living. For example, she cannot reach for dishes in her cabinet, lift a gallon of milk or a bottle of soda, or do anything overhead. She has paresthesia and pain with extreme motions. Claimant settled her primary claim with Employer for 25 % of the left arm at the shoulder.