Sparrow v. Tyco Integrated Security (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-007-17, 16 pp.) (Linda Stephens, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: The Industrial Commission apparently found neurosurgeon Dr. Dennis Bullard’s opinion the most credible regarding the need for ...

Tagged with: medical evidence

Wright v. Wal-Mart, Inc. # 1127 Plaintiff concedes that the evidence before the Industrial Commission did not support a finding of disability based on medical evidence, an unsuccessful job search, or a lower-paying job.

Tagged with: disability medical evidence

McFalls v. Ingles Markets, Inc. Holding: Plaintiff has not seen his spine specialist since 2008, and doctors he has seen more recently have found that his on-the-job back injury would not prevent him from returning to work. Nevertheless, the spine specialist testified that, without surgery, plaintiff would be unable to return to work. Plaintiff has not had surgery; therefore, the spine specialist’s testimony supports the Industrial Commission’s determination that plaintiff remains totally disabled.

Tagged with: medical evidence Temporary Total Disability Workers Compensation

Smith v. Wake County Government Even though plaintiff presented evidence that his neck and shoulder problems arose from a July 9, 2009 on-the-job incident in which he tried to keep an intruder from escaping, the Industrial Commission could find that this incident did not cause plaintiff’s injuries based on the testimony of plaintiff’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Singh.

Tagged with: Causation medical evidence Workers’ Compensation

Rawls v. Yellow Roadway Corp. In an interlocutory opinion, the Industrial Commission said, “The evidence of record is insufficient to determine whether plaintiff was able to work after June 22, 2007.” Thereafter Dr. Ewert examined plaintiff and opined, “I don’t believe [plaintiff is] competitively employable,” and Dr. Manning opined, “The severity of [plaintiff’s] neuropsychological impairment would preclude any form of gainful employment.” After reviewing this new evidence, along with the evidence already in the record, the Commission ruled that plaintiff had been continuously unable to work since Feb. 24, 2005. We are not persuaded by defendants’ argument that the Commission made this ruling based only on the testimonies of Dr. Ewert and Dr. Manning.

Tagged with: apportionment medical evidence Workers’ Compensation

State v. Trogdon When Drs. Riemer and Nakagawa testified about the nature of the victim’s injuries and how those injuries had resulted in his death, their testimony did not use “homicide” as a legal term of art but as a means of describing how these injuries came to be inflicted - the “manner of death” was a homicide and not accidental. Since neither witness (nor the death certificate nor the autopsy report) provided evidence that amounted to a legal conclusion based on the facts, the trial court did not err in admitting this evidence.

Tagged with: Criminal Practice medical evidence Second-Degree Murder

Belch v. Delhaize America, Inc. Medical opinions may be based on information supplied by the patient, as statements made by a patient to his physician for the purposes of treatment are inherently reliable. Based on plaintiff’s description of the incident and his pain at the time of the incident, plaintiff’s doctors opined that plaintiff’s workplace injury aggravated his pre-existing back condition. The doctors’ opinions were reliable and competent to support the Industrial Commission’s finding of an aggravation. We affirm the Commission’s award of benefits.

Tagged with: aggravation medical evidence Workers’ Compensation

Adams v. Parts Unlimited Where plaintiff proved disability by “the production of evidence that he is capable of some work but that it would be futile because of preexisting conditions, i.e., age, inexperience, lack of education, to seek other employment,” Russell v. Lowes Product Distribution, 108 N.C. App. 762, 425 S.E.2d 454 (1993), plaintiff was not required to also produce medical evidence that he physically or mentally incapable of work in any employment. We affirm the Industrial Commission’s award of ongoing temporary total disability and medical benefits.

Tagged with: Back Injury disability futility medical evidence Workers Compensation