94-0273. THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF UTAH MAY BIGLER vs. T. W. SERVICES INC. and TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE CO. Defendants.

• Court: Utah

Utah Workers Compensation Decisions 1995. 94-0273. THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF UTAH MAY BIGLER vs. T. W. SERVICES INC. and TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE CO. Defendants THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF UTAH MAY BIGLER, Applicant, vs. T. W. SERVICES, INC. and TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE CO. Defendants.Case No. 94-0273ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR REVIEWT. W. Services, Inc. and its workers' compensation insurance carrier, Transportation Insurance Co. (referred to jointly as "T. W. Services" hereafter) ask The Industrial Commission of Utah to review the Administrative Law Judge's award of benefits to May Bigler pursuant to the Utah Workers' Compensation Act. The Industrial Commission exercises jurisdiction over this motion for review pursuant to Utah Code Ann. §63-46b-12, Utah Code Ann. §35-1-82.53, and Utah Admin. Code R568-1-4.M. ISSUE UNDER REVIEW Has Ms. Bigler established that her accident of March 11, 1993 is the legal cause of the injuries for which she seeks workers' compensation benefits. Because the Industrial Commission finds this issue dispositive, it does not address other issues raised in T. W. Services' motion for review. FINDINGS OF FACT Because the parties agree that Ms. Bigler suffered a preexisting back conditions that required her to meet the higherstandard of legal causation announced in Allen v. Industrial Commission, 729 P.2d 15 (Utah 1986), it is unnecessary to detail the nature and extent of such preexisting conditions, which are documented in the medical record. As to the accident of March 11, 1993, the Industrial Commission adopts the ALJ's finding, which can be summarized as follows: Ms. Bigler worked as a cashier in a cafeteria, standing behind a cash register located between two waist-high counters. A copy of the daily menu was held in a light-weight plastic stand in front of the cash register, approximately two feet away from Ms. Bigler. At the time of the accident, Ms. Bigler saw the menu begin to fall. She twisting 25 degrees to the right and lunged forward across the counter in an unsuccessful attempt to catch the menu. As she did so, she felt a sharp pain in her low back. Ms. Bigler now seeks workers' compensation benefits for this injury. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Section 35-1-45 of the Utah Workers' Compensation Act provides benefits for workers injured by accident arising out of and in the course of...