Jerry D. Sample ("Claimant") is 43 years of age (DOB: 2/29/76). He is 6'2" tall and weighs in excess of 300 pounds. Claimant's only current medication is over-thecounter Ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory. Claimant is not currently working. He has a high school diploma and received his Missouri Commercial Driver's License (CDL) on November 30, 2016. (Ex. G). Claimant's last regular employment was with Drivers Management, LLC/Werner Enterprises, in early 2017. Claimant subsequently took a medical leave of absence in 2017, and was ultimately terminated, when he did not return to work.
Claimant's entire prior employment history includes at least 16 years of roofing work. This work involved heavy lifting, climbing, and bending. From 2013 to 2015, Claimant worked "rough necking" in the Oklahoma and Texas oil fields. As a roughnecker, Claimant worked up to 12 hours per day, performing multi-week shifts, including weekends. Claimant did "everything imaginable" on the oil rigs. The work required continuous hoisting of pipes overhead, by use of a cable, onto oil rigs, and swinging sledge hammers. While working as a rough-necker, Claimant sustained multiple back injuries, in the nature of sprains/strains, as well as a foot and smashed finger injury.
Claimant completed a private truck driving course at Mineral Area Community College in the fall of 2016. He began working for Driver's Management/Werner Trucking ("employer" or "Werner") on October 24, 2016. Claimant passed a Department Of Transportation ("DOT") physical examination on that date. (Ex. 2). The DOT examination consisted of a self-administered medical history completed by checking off boxes for any admitted complaints, a blood pressure test, a urinalysis, height and weight measurements, a vision test, a hearing test, and the doctor's review of body systems including ENT, lungs, and neurological status. (Ex. 2). The DOT physical exam did not require any x-rays of the cervical spine, much less an MRI of the neck to identify chronic, multi-level pathology.
Claimant underwent a 5 to 6 week training period with a Drivers Management supervisor. His Missouri CDL license was issued on November 30, 2016. (Ex. G). At that time, Claimant was provided with a Drivers Management truck and trailer, and was assigned to a dedicated Dollar General retail-store account. During training, his routes only required "drop and hook," with no loading or unloading freight. He concluded training by December 16, 2016, and was scheduled to begin driving solo after Christmas 2016.
The Dollar General account included multiple delivery locations, primarily in Missouri, centered out of employer's Fulton, Missouri terminal. Claimant's solo delivery route involved picking up his preloaded trailer at the Fulton terminal, performing a safety inspection, driving to 3 to 5 retail stores as scheduled by the employer, and dropping off loaded totes or "rolltainers" from his trailer at each store. Each rolltainer was on wheels, and was 3.5 feet long, two feet wide, and up to six feet tall. The weight of each rolltainer varied, depending on its contents. Claimant's work duties did not involve stocking the
Issued by DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
rolltainers or loading the rolltainers in the trailer. Claimant testified a loaded rolltainer could weigh between 200 and 1,000 pounds. No further evidence was presented on the weight of the rolltainers or the amount of physical force needed to move them. Delivery at each store required Claimant to offload 10 to 24 rolltainers from his trailer, which he pushed or pulled into the store.
While working alone after Christmas 2016, Claimant experienced general muscle soreness in both shoulders and arms while performing his job duties. These complaints came on gradually in the one to two weeks after Christmas 2016, and worsened over time. As Claimant conceded, he did not sustain a work accident, event or trauma, occurring on a specific date or during a single work shift involving his neck, shoulder, and right arm. Rather, Claimant recalled his physical complaints of shoulder and full arm pain gradually worsened over time. Claimant testified that he later developed "an electrical sensation" in both arms. Sometime before 1-17-17, after an ice storm kept him home over the weekend, Claimant notified his fleet manager of his complaints. Claimant testified that he did not have previous neck or arm complaints, or treatment for neck or arm symptoms.
Claimant testified that he started working by himself unloading rolltainers after Christmas 2016. He further testified that his last day of work was January 16, 2017. Thus, there were 15 working days between December 26, 2016 and January 16, 2017, excluding holidays.
Medical Evidence
The Employer arranged for Claimant to be treated at Fulton Clinic on 1-17-17. Claimant reported he had injured his right shoulder and the right side of his neck. He complained of pain in the right shoulder and numbness in the right arm, along with restricted range of motion. He was diagnosed with right shoulder pain, right neck pain radiating into the right arm, and muscle spasms. Cervical spine x-rays were negative for acute fracture and revealed loss of cervical lordosis, with slightly diminished disc space height at C4-5 and C5-6. Right shoulder x-rays were negative for fracture, dislocation, or significant degeneration. Claimant was prescribed Prednisone and Flexeril, without refill, and was only taken off work for 1-17-17, the day of treatment. (Ex. 3). He did not return to work.
Thereafter, Claimant sought medical care on his own with his personal physician, Dr. James Moore, D.O., in Farmington, Missouri. (Ex.4, 5). On 1-23-17, Claimant reported he had been working, driving a truck, and gradually developed an onset of pain and numbness in the right side of his neck, into the right trapezius and shoulder, and down the right arm. Dr. Moore did not document any specific work event or discrete wor