Workers’ Compensation – Causation – Medical Testimony – Weighing Evidence – Head Injury

Plaintiff’s wife and treating physician gave testimony supporting plaintiff’s claim that his post-injury cognitive issues were caused when he hit his head on the corner of a wooden storage rack at work in July 2015; however, at defendants’ request, another doctor examined plaintiff and concluded that he was exaggerating his symptoms, that he did not suffer a head injury of any clinical importance in July 2015, and that it was not possible to relate plaintiff’s complaints to a brain injury. The Industrial Commission gave more weight to the testimony of the examining physician than to plaintiff’s witnesses; moreover, the Commission made findings regarding plaintiff’s pre-injury cognitive problems and post-injury medical findings of alertness, well-organized thoughts, and no cognitive barriers to learning. It is not within the province of this court to reweigh the evidence.

We affirm the Commission’s denial of benefits.

White v. Guest Services, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-094-18, 12 pp.) (Wanda Bryant, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. Benjamin Cochran for plaintiff; M. Duane Jones, Linda Stephens and Brooke Mulenex for defendants. N.C. App. Unpub.