JOSHUA COLE, Employee/Appellant,
v.
LAMETTI & SONS, INC. and AETNA/TRAVELERS GROUP, Employer-Insurer/Respondents
and
MATHIOWETZ CONSTR. CO. and LIBERTY MUT. INS. COS., Employer-Insurer/Respondents.
No. WC18-6195
Minnesota Workers Compensation
Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals
December 20, 2018
CAUSATION
- SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. Substantial evidence supports the
compensation judge's findings that the employee had not
sustained a left shoulder injury in 2014 and that the 2014
injury was not a substantial contributing cause of the
employee's need for the recommended left shoulder
surgery.
CAUSATION
- TEMPORARY AGGRAVATION. Substantial evidence supports the
compensation judge's finding that the 2014 right shoulder
injury was a temporary aggravation and had resolved.
Raymond R. Peterson, McCoy Peterson Ltd., Minneapolis,
Minnesota, for the Appellant.
Katherine Sommerer VanHavermaet, Kelly R. Rodieck &
Associates, St. Paul, Minnesota, for Respondents Lametti
& Sons, Inc., and Aetna/Travelers Group.
Jaclyn
S. Millner, Law Offices of Thomas Stilp, Golden Valley,
Minnesota, for Respondents Mathiowetz Constr. Co. and Liberty
Mut. Ins. Cos.
Determined by: Patricia J. Milun, Chief Judge, Gary M. Hall,
Judge, Sean M. Quinn, Judge.
Compensation Judge: Stacy P. Bouman
Affirmed.
OPINION
PATRICIA J. MILUN, Chief Judge.
The
employee appeals the compensation judge's findings that
the employee had not sustained a left shoulder injury in
2014, that the 2014 injury was not a substantial contributing
cause of the employee's need for left shoulder surgery,
and that the 2014 right shoulder injury had resolved. We
affirm.
BACKGROUND
Joshua
J. Cole, [1] the employee, has a history of prior
work injuries with multiple employers and has undergone
extensive treatment. In 1997, the employee was driving a
bulldozer when it hit a rock, jarring him and injuring his
neck, back, and left arm. In 1999, when standing on the
tracks of an excavator, the employee slipped and fell on his
back, landing on the tracks. He experienced neck, upper back,
and left shoulder pain and eventually underwent a C4-6
anterior fusion in 2001. The employee reached maximum medical
improvement on May 17, 2002, with restrictions of no lifting
over 20 pounds, no repetitive lifting, bending, or twisting,
and no heavy equipment work. He continued to have symptoms of
left shoulder pain.
On July
5, 2005, the employee injured his neck and shoulders as he
was helping carry a heavy piece of equipment while working
for Mathiowetz Construction Company, which was insured for
workers' compensation liability by Liberty Mutual
Insurance Companies.[2] The employee was diagnosed with left
shoulder subacromial impingement. In March 2006, the employee
was referred to a specialist who recommended a subacromial
decompression surgery. In June 2006, the employee treated
with Dr. Jeffrey Kalo, who opined that the employee's
left shoulder subacromial decompression did not warrant
further treatment until his cervical spine condition
resolved.
On
August 7, 2012, the employee sustained a severe traction
injury to his left shoulder while working for a different
employer. He was diagnosed with a left shoulder partial
thickness tear by Dr. Peter Looby, who recommended an
arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with subacromial
decompression, distal clavicle excision, and possible biceps
tenotomy. On January 4, 2013, Dr. Looby performed left
shoulder surgery on the employee which included arthroscopic
labral debridement, subacromial decompression with
acromioplasty, distal clavicle excision, rotator cuff repair,
and glenoid chondroplasty. The employee was released to work
without restrictions on May 21, 2013, and reached maximum
medical improvement on August 2, 2013, with a permanent
partial disability rating of three percent.
In
November 2013, the employee sustained a traction injury to
his right shoulder while working for yet another employer. He
was diagnosed with right shoulder rotator cuff tendinopathy
and possible torn rotator cuff, and treated with an injection
and physical therapy. In January 2014, the employee underwent
a right shoulder arthroscopic extensive glenohumeral joint
debridement, glenoid chondroplasty, subacromial
decompression, and distal clavicle excision.
On
October 23, 2014, the employee was injured as he was helping
lift a 350-pound pipe while working for Lametti & Sons,
Inc., the employer, which was insured for workers'
compensation liability by Aetna/Travelers Group, the insurer.
The employee testified that he felt a pulling sensation in
both arms, but when...
