Employee: Bin Gardner Injury No. 17-097796
Dependents: None
Employer: Triumph Foods, LLC
Insurer: Travelers Indemnity Company of North America
Additional: None
Hearing Date: March 13, 2019 Checked by: RSA/drl
The above-referenced workers' compensation claim was heard before the undersigned Administrative Law Judge on March 13, 2019. The parties were afforded an opportunity to submit briefs or proposed temporary awards, resulting in the record being completed and submitted to the undersigned on April 12, 2019.
Claimant, Bin Gardner, appeared personally and through her attorney, Angela Trimble. Employer and Insurer appeared through their attorney, John D. Jurcyk.
The parties entered into a stipulation of facts as follows:
- An employer/employee relationship existed on December 7, 2017;
- On December 7, 2017 Employee was working subject to the Worker's Compensation Law in the City of St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri;
- Employer was operating under and subject to the provisions of the Missouri Workers' Compensation Act;
- The Employer's liability was fully insured by Travelers Indemnity Company of North America;
- The Employee's claim was filed within the time allowed by law;
- The Employee's average weekly wage was 996.41; and
- Employee's temporary total disability compensation rate is 664.27 and permanent partial disability compensation rate is $483.48.
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Issued by DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Employee: Bin Gardner
Injury Number: 17-097796
ISSUES
- Whether Employee provided adequate notice of her injury?
- Whether Employee's work activities are the prevailing factor in her alleged repetitive injury?
EVIDENCE PRESENTED
The employee appeared at the hearing and testified live. In addition, parties stipulate to the admission of the following exhibits:
Employee's Exhibit 1: ............................April 18, 2018 Report of Steven Charapata, M.D.
Employer/ Insurer's Exhibit A: .........................January 30, 2018 Report of Brett Miller, M.D.
The exhibits were received and admitted into evidence.
DISCUSSION
Testimony of Bin Gardner
Claimant testified that she worked for Triumph Foods beginning in 2016 and almost immediately she began to suffer symptoms of pain and cramping in her left hand, which is her dominant hand. Claimant testified that she notified her immediate supervisor, Casey Scott, about her wrist pain before and after seeking medical treatment at the clinic provided by Employer. Claimant sought and received medical treatment at the Employer-provided in-house health clinic and was told to wrap and ice her wrist. Claimant was told it would take some time before she became accustomed to the work and was also treated with heat packs as well as over-the-counter medication. Claimant testified that she was moved to different positions during her employment with Triumph, but she continued to suffer pain, cramping, numbness and other symptoms and was on several occasions sent to Dr. Miller, Triumph's doctor.
Claimant testified that she had no prior complaints about her left hand/wrist although her previous employments included a prep cook at a restaurant. Claimant testified that she continued to have problems in her left hand/wrist culminating in December 2017 when she filed this claim.
Issued by DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Employee: Bin Gardner
Injury Number: 17-097796
Steven Charapata, M.D.
Steven Charapata, M.D. provided a medical report dated April 18, 2018. Claimant was evaluated by Dr. Charapata on April 17, 2018 at the request of her attorney. Claimant represented to Dr. Charapata that she worked "mainly in an area where she has to use scissors to cut thyroid glands." Claimant also indicated to Dr. Charapata that she had to use right-handed scissors and was not allowed to use left-handed scissors. She advised Dr. Charapata that her pain "...began early in her employment and has progressed,..." until it became unbearable.
Dr. Charapata reviewed Claimant's Employee Report of Injury as well as all medical records from Employer's in-house clinic and Dr. Miller's office.
Dr. Charapata also performed a physical examination from which he noted Claimant complained of severe left wrist pain that is worse with repetitive use of her left hand. She complained of loss of strength and that the pain became most severe when she was forced to use right-handed scissors when performing her job duties. She stated that the problems in her left hand/wrist have impaired her ability to cut foods as required for a chef and that she has difficulty cooking and picking up pans.
Dr. Charapata measured grip strength as two kilograms on the left and twenty kilograms on the right. Dr. Charapata found Claimant had significant tenderness over the snuffbox with a positive Finkelstein but negative Tinel sign. She had decreased range of motion over the dorsal aspect of the wrist which extends to midforearm. Claimant had tenderness to palpation to the second and third digit of the left hand over the PIP joint and with range of motion.
Dr. Charapata opined that Claimant's intense repetitive nature of her job, which required using right-handed scissors in her left hand for a significant period of time, was the prevailing factor in causing de Quervain's disease, left wrist pain, and questionable neuropathy/carpal tunnel syndrome of the left hand.
As a result of his examination, Dr. Charapata recommended a complete workup of her left wrist and extremity, including x-rays of her wrist and an EMG to rule out any neuropathy. Claimant needs an evaluation by an occupational hand therapist as well as a hand specialist for specific treatment such as corticosteroid injections.
Brett Miller, M.D.
Brett Miller, M.D. provided a medical report dated January 20, 2018. Claimant was "well known" to Dr. Miller, as he had initially treated her in 2016 when her hand complaints first began. At that time, Claimant advised that her left wrist hurts and that she had been using some scissors on the line and now she was a "flyer". She complained that some jobs hurt her more than others. She complained her pain is sharp and wakes her up at night. In the orthopedic note dated November 18, 2016, Dr. Miller diagnosed Claimant with "De Quervian's, mild."
Claimant was seen on November 22, 2017, by Sarah Pederson, PA-C, with Dr. Miller's office. Claimant again advised of her history of pain in the left wrist for approximately one year. Claimant
Issued by DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Employee: Bin Gardner
Injury Number: 17-097796
described her pain as coming and going. Claimant indicated that the pain is sometimes worse at home and sometimes worse at work, and sometimes worse at night and sometimes worse in the morning. Ultimately, Ms. Pederson concluded that Employee's condition was not work-related.
Dr. Miller provided an opinion on January 30, 2018, wherein he concluded that although Ms. Pederson evaluated Claimant and found that her condition was not work-related, he supported and agreed with her evaluation and resulting impression. He lastly added that Claimant does not have de Quervain's tenosynovitis, nor would it be occupationally related. Rather, her symptoms were a natural consequence of general everyday living.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
After considering all the evidence, including Claimant's testimony, and observing Claimant's appearance and demeanor, and the reports of Dr. Charapata and Dr. Miller, I find and believe that Claimant has met her burden of proving that she provided adequate notice of he