North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Taylor v. Carolinas Healthcare System (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-16-0427, 14 pp.) (Ann Marie Calabria, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Unpub.
Holding: Plaintiff could not point to a specific incident that caused her pain; instead, she testified that she developed burning pain from her wrists to her shoulders while she performed her regular duties during a particularly busy workday. Plaintiff has failed to prove that her injury is compensable because she did not experience an interruption of her regular work routine and the introduction of unusual conditions likely to result in unexpected consequences.
We affirm the Industrial Commission’s denial of benefits.
Plaintiff also failed to prove that her current neck complaints are causally related to the duties she performed during her busy shift on Feb. 16, 2012. Her medical records, as well as her own account of her injuries, show that plaintiff’s cervical complaints occurred more than a month after the alleged injury. The Commission’s conclusion that plaintiff’s injury was not compensable was also supported by Dr. Andrew Sumich’s testimony that it was possible that plaintiff had a degenerative condition that was not related to her employment.
