JESSIKA R. HYLAND, Employee/Appellant,
v.
ST. MARY’S HOSP., MAYO CLINIC, Self-Insured Employer/Respondent,
and
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD MINN./BLUE PLUS and MINN. DEP’T OF HUMAN SERVS./BRS, Intervenors.
No. WC18-6194
Minnesota Workers Compensation
Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals
February 4, 2019
CAUSATION
– CONSEQUENTIAL INJURY. Substantial evidence, including
medical records, lay testimony and expert medical opinion,
supports the finding that the employee’s 2016 fall on
stairs did not result in an injury consequential to her 2012
work injury.
PRACTICE
& PROCEDURE - REMAND. The compensation judge's
Findings and Order contain insufficient factual findings with
respect to the extent of the employee’s permanent
partial disability and the effects of the employee’s
work and non-work injuries on her employability. We vacate
and remand for further findings on the issues of whether the
employee satisfied the statutory permanency minimum to meet
the threshold for permanent total disability, and whether the
employee is permanently and totally disabled.
Raymond R. Peterson and Deborah A. Bellas, McCoy Peterson,
Ltd., Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Appellant.
Gina
M. Uhrbom, Brown & Carlson, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for
the Respondent.
Determined by: Deborah K. Sundquist, Judge, Gary M. Hall,
Judge, Sean M. Quinn, Judge
Compensation Judge: William J. Marshall
Affirms,
in part, vacates and remands, in part.
OPINION
DEBORAH K. SUNDQUIST, Judge.
The
employee appeals the compensation judge’s finding that
a fall on stairs at home on June 17, 2016, was unrelated to
the employee’s admitted low back injury of December 22,
2012, that the employee was not permanently and totally
disabled, and that she had not met the permanent partial
disability thresholds for establishing permanent total
disability. We affirm the finding that the 2016 fall was not
a consequential injury. However, we vacate and remand on the
issues of whether the employee failed to meet the permanency
threshold and whether she was permanently and totally
disabled.
BACKGROUND
Jessika
Hyland was approximately 21 years old in 2006 when she
sustained a herniated disc with left L5-S1 nerve root
impingement. She underwent surgery, but low back and left
lower extremity pain continued to bother her. In 2009, she
passed a pre-employment physical and the self-insured
employer, St. Mary’s Hospital Mayo Clinic, hired her as
a patient care assistant (PCA). In 2012, the employee
obtained an associate’s degree in nursing.
On
December 22, 2012, the employee suffered an admitted injury
to her low back at work while boosting a patient with a draw
sheet. Following the injury, she underwent multiple
surgeries, including left L4-5 and L5-S1 foraminotomies and
the implantation of a spinal cord stimulator. The employee
was taken off work. She underwent epidural injections and was
prescribed long-term narcotic medication. She was eventually
released to work part time and did not return to her former
job. The employee continued her education, obtaining a
bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2014.
Between
2013 and 2016, the employee’s symptoms worsened. She
consistently complained to medical providers of frequent
falling, which she believed was due to low back pain and left
lower extremity weakness. On examination, physicians noted
the employee had an antalgic gait and used a cane. She
treated with Jeffrey Payne, M.D., who reported on November 5,
2013, that the employee’s left leg “buckles and
gives out.” He observed multiple bruises on her legs
and arms. Dr. Payne indicated that he could not explain her
falls as there were no associated neurologic findings. (Ex.
C.) Matthew J. Pingree, M.D., diagnosed the employee with
failed back surgery syndrome. He noted on August 4, 2014,
that the employee continued to fall, with one recent fall
resulting in a right ankle injury. (Ex. C-11.)
The
employee also treated with a physical medicine and
rehabilitation physician, Russell Gelfman, M.D., who sought
to return her to work. On January 26, 2016, the employee was
released to return to part-time light-duty work at two hours
per day, two days per week. By June 14, 2016, the employee
was released to work four hours per day, three days per week
and was able to lift 40 pounds occasionally, and perform a
single lift of up to 50 pounds. (Ex. F at 30.) A return to
work meeting was planned for the near future.
The
employee claims that her leg gave out three days later, on
June 17, 2016, while she was carrying laundry up some stairs
at home, causing her to fall forward. Less than an hour
later, she was seen at the emergency room at Mayo
Clinic-Albert Lea Hospital where she reported a history of
falls due to a spinal injury. As a result of the fall, the
employee fractured fingers on both hands. After conservative
care, the employee’s hand symptoms worsened and she was
diagnosed with bilateral complex regional pain syndrome
(CRPS). Dr. Gelfman rated permanent partial disability (PPD)
from her low back injury at 14 percent and from her hand
injury at 20.16 percent. (Ex. J.) He took her off work due to
upper extremity pain and...
