Employee had been working for employer since 1993. She began as a part-time page and ultimately became a full-time library assistant at employer's North Independence Branch.
As a library assistant, it was a part of her duties to deal with books and other library materials that arrived twice each day in plastic "tote" boxes. One of these deliveries came first thing in the morning. Normally, 15 to 18 totes were delivered each morning. These totes were divided evenly between the six to eight workers present. The number of totes delivered was sometimes greater immediately after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
During a period of about one hour before patrons arrived, employee and the other workers had to process the materials in the totes. New books went to the workroom. Returning books were checked back in and put on a cart for pages to re-shelf. Materials that had been put on hold were separated from the other materials.
Employee provided the following testimony. On January 9, 2006, employer was short-staffed in the morning, the workload was high, and employee began to experience pain in her arm during the hour that she was working with the materials from the totes. She had not felt any pain in her arm prior to the beginning of that
shift. Within a matter of days, employee told her immediate supervisor about the pain and that it was incurred at work. In fact, employee testified that she told the supervisor, Ms. Teagarden, "over and over again that [she] hurt [her] arm lifting those totes."
Employee's friend and immediate supervisor, Ms. Teagarden, recalled employee speaking to her and other workers about her medical problems but had no recollection of employee telling her that work caused such problems. Somewhat to the contrary, Ms. Teagarden was familiar with the need to file an incident report if an employee believed he or she was injured on-the-job; and said that if any worker indicated such an incident had occurred, she would have so advised him or her.
The first time Ms. Teagarden recalled employee telling her that employee's medical problems were workrelated was approximately April 21, 2006, when employee came to her with a letter from her health care insurer (Blue Cross Blue Shield). The letter was an inquiry as to whether her recent medical complaints were work-related. Employee did not know how to answer or proceed. She believed that surgery would be required. Ms. Teagarden had employee meet with her supervisor and, ultimately, Jennifer Reeder (employer's benefits coordinator). After talking with Ms. Reeder, employee took the weekend to think about whether she wanted to proceed with a claim for Workers' Compensation. On April 25, 2006, employee completed an incident report for employer; and on April 26, a Report of Injury was completed.
Employee's first medical treatment revealed in the evidence was a visit to Dr. Britt Batchelor on January 12, 2006. Despite employee's contention that she knew immediately she had injured herself at work on January 9 , she listed "January 4, 2006" on the doctor's patient data form she filled out as the date of her "illness." Employee's explanation for this date is that she was "brain dead." Consistent with that note, though, the doctor made the following notation in his record: "[P]atient indicated pain has been present less than 8 days." Right after the form asked for the date of the injury, it asked for the time and location of the injury. Employee checked the boxes indicating both "AM" and "PM," as well as writing in "work/home." On the doctor's forms, employee was also asked "How did accident occur?" She was given the choice of three boxes: "Auto," "On the job," and "Other." She placed an "X" by both "On the job" and "Other." The doctor's notes do contain the somewhat speculative comment, "poss moved books wrong."
On January 16, employee went to Independence Urgent. The doctor's entry from that visit stated, "Pt c/o neck pain X2 wks . . . she denies any trauma or fall recently." It also indicates, "Neck pain of ? etiol[ogy]."
On January 17, employee visited her family doctor, Dr. Ghazal Shaikh. Dr. Shaikh spent more than half an hour with employee. The doctor's notes from that appointment record, "No history of any trauma or fall but has been lifting furniture for the last two weeks."
Employee did not allege and we have no evidence that employee was moving furniture at work. We do have evidence that employee and her husband were involved in an extensive renovation of their antebellum, 5,000 square foot home in the months leading up to October 2005, when the home was filmed for HGTV.
Employee testified that her family physician was a "foreigner," that her doctor was "very much in labor when I was visiting her" on January 17, that she probably told the doctor she was moving "totes and at work and stuff. And again, she was in labor."
Dr. Shaikh's notes also indicate that the doctor will "schedule an EMG on the left upper extremity." Dr. Shaikh arranged that EMG for the next day.
The notes of Dr. Kent Cooper, who carried out the EMG on January 18, contain nothing about a work-related injury. They also say that employee reported her symptoms as having been present for two or three weeks.
Although employee testified that her physician, Dr. Shaikh, was on maternity leave for three months immediately after January 17, 2006, the records show that she had a follow up visit with this doctor on March 16, 2006. The notes from this visit again read, "No history of any trauma or fall."
Dr. Shaikh arranged for an MRI. Dr. Stephen Dykstra's report from the MRI appointment on March 18 states as follows: "The patient has no history of recent injury."
Dr. Shaikh also arranged for employee to receive an epidural injection. This procedure took place on April 6, 2006. The notes from Dr. George A. Edwards on that date read, "Ms. Snyder states that this problem has developed over the last three months. She denies any significant injury or event that seemed to have triggered her problem."
April 21 was when employee talked with Ms. Teagarden and Ms. Reeder.
On April 25, 2006, when employee filled out the incident report, employer sent her to Dr. Doris Zhong. In speaking with Dr. Zhong, employee revealed that she was injured on January 9, 2006, "while she was unloading totes and boxes of books at the Library [that] weighed between 20 to 50 pounds."