2007-028. Sourdough Express Inc. and Alaska Nat'l Ins. Co. Movants vs. Darrell Barron Respondent.

• Case Date: January 17, 2006
• Court: Alaska

Alaska Workers Compensation Decisions 2007. Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission 2007-028. Sourdough Express Inc. and Alaska Nat'l Ins. Co. Movants vs. Darrell Barron Respondent Alaska Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission Sourdough Express, Inc., and Alaska Nat'l Ins. Co., Movants, vs. Darrell Barron, Respondent.Decision No. 028 January 17, 2006AWCAC Appeal No. 06-036 AWCB Decision No. 06-0304 AWCB Case No. 199802868MMemorandum Decision and Order Motion for Extraordinary Review from Alaska Workers' Compensation Board Decision No. 06-0304, issued November 15, 2006 by the northern panel at Fairbanks, Fred G. Brown, Chairman, Chris Johansen, Member for Management, and Damien Thomas, Member for Labor. Appearances: Richard L. Wagg, Russell, Wagg, Gabbert and Budzinski, for movants Sourdough Express, Inc., and Alaska National Insurance Co.; Allen Vacura, Stepovich and Vacura Law Office, for respondent Darrell Barron. Commissioners: Jim Robison, Philip Ulmer, and Kristin Knudsen.This decision has been edited to conform to technical standards for publication. By: Jim Robison, Appeals Commissioner. Sourdough Express has moved the commission for extraordinary review of the board's final decision and order finding that Darrell Barron's disc tear was a latent injury and that its controversion of his 1999 claim was invalid thus absolving Mr. Barron of the obligation to request a hearing on his claim within two years of the controversion. The commission grants extraordinary review on the ground that immediate review may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation and the decision involves important questions of law on which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion.(fn1) Factual background. The facts described here are drawn from the Board's final decision and order and this summary is provided only to give sufficient context to frame the issues presented to the commission. The commission makes no independent findings of fact. Darrell Barron worked for Sourdough Express as a mover from January 1991 through April 1998. The work was strenuous and he suffered many minor aches and pains and a number of specific injuries. In April 1998, Mr. Barron quit his job due to back pain. His back problems continued, however, and in late 1998, he sought treatment from an orthopedic surgeon. In April 1999, he underwent an MRI, which revealed mild degenerative changes involving the facets at L5-S1 and a minimal bulge at L4-5. On November 2, 1999, Mr. Barron filed a worker's compensation claim related to an injury incurred on February 18, 1998, while moving a hide-a-bed. Sourdough Express controverted the claim on November 24, 1999, on a number of grounds including that his work for Sourdough was not the legal cause of his disability. On January 8, 2000, Mr. Barron was examined by Dr. Stephen Marble in an employer-requested independent medical evaluation. Dr. Marble concluded that Mr. Barron had suffered a minor ankle sprain and low back muscle strain, which had resolved by April 1998. On May 17, 2001, Mr. Barron filed a worker's compensation claim for an injury to his hip and low back that he said had occurred on June 2, 1994. Sourdough Express filed a Petition to Dismiss under AS 23.30.100 for failing to give timely notice of the injury, which the Board granted on December 14, 2001. Mr. Barron continued to seek treatment for his back pain and in November 2001 another MRI was conducted, revealing a minimal bulge at L4-5. Surgery was not recommended at that time and Mr. Barron's back was not treated again until December of 2003, when a sudden worsening of his condition took him back to the doctor. An MRI...