Bible v. Open Gates LLC, 010620 IAWC, 5066744

• Case Date: January 06, 2020
• Court: Iowa

SHAWN BIBLE, Claimant v. OPEN GATES LLC A/K/A OPEN GATES BUSINESS A/K/A OPEN GATES GROUP, Employer, and TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY OF CT., Insurance Carrier, Defendants. No. 5066744 Iowa Workers Compensation Before the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner January 6, 2020          Head Notes: 1108.50, 1803, 1402.40, 2907           ARBITRATION DECISION           ERIN Q. PALS, DEPUTY WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSIONER          STATEMENT OF THE CASE          Shawn Bible, claimant, filed a petition in arbitration seeking workers' compensation benefits from Open Gates LLC a/k/a Open Gates Business a/k/a Open Gates Group, employer and Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut, insurance carrier as defendants. Hearing was held on October 8, 2019 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.          Shawn Bible, Nichole Bible, and Tara Benson all testified live at trial. The evidentiary record also includes joint exhibits 1-7, claimant's exhibits 1-10, and defendants' exhibits A-E.          The parties filed a hearing report at the commencement of the arbitration hearing. On the hearing report, the parties entered into various stipulations. All of those stipulations were accepted and are hereby incorporated into this arbitration decision and no factual or legal issues relative to the parties' stipulations will be raised or discussed in this decision. The parties are now bound by their stipulations.          The parties submitted post-hearing briefs on October 22, 2019.          ISSUES          The parties submitted the following issues for resolution:

1. The extent of industrial disability claimant sustained as a result of the stipulated December 9, 2016, work injury.

2. Whether defendants are responsible for payment of past medical expenses.

3. Assessment of costs.

         FINDINGS OF FACT          The undersigned, having considered all of the evidence and testimony in the record, finds:          Claimant, Shawn Bible, was 38 years old at the time of the hearing. On December 9, 2016, the date of the injury in question, he was employed by Open Gates LLC a/k/a Open Gates Business a/k/a Open Gates Group (hereinafter "Open Gates"). He was hired as a master electrician by Open Gates in February of 2016. Up until the time of the December 9, 2016 injury, Shawn was able to perform his job without any difficulties and he did not have any preexisting injuries. (Testimony)          Shawn does not remember all the details surrounding his work injury. At the time of the accident, he was on an extension ladder that ran between the first and second floors of the building. Shawn remembers hearing the clicking of the ladder, his coworkers telling him not to move, and trying to grab for something as he fell. He fell approximately 13-15 feet into an elevator shaft and landed on a wood platform. As the result of the work injury, Shawn asserts he sustained a loss of consciousness, multiple rib fractures, right collar bone fracture, one vertebral body fracture, one transverse process fracture of thoracic spine, concussion, rotator cuff tear, fracture of the arterial wall of right external auditory canal, right vertebral artery dissection, subacute subdural hematoma, right temporal bone fracture, right shoulder reverse Bankart lesion, headaches, vertigo, post-trauma psychological injuries, and a traumatic brain injury. (Joint Exhibit 1 & JE2; Claimants Exhibit 1; Testimony)          Following the accident, Shawn was transported via ambulance to the emergency room at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) where he was admitted and stayed until his discharge four days later on December 13, 2016. The UIHC initially diagnosed him with a right clavicle fracture, rib fractures, one vertebral body fracture, and one transverse process fracture. (JE1 & JE2; CI. Ex. 1; Testimony)          In early January of 2017, while Shawn was recovering from the injury he began to experience dizziness. A CT scan revealed a fracture of the arterial wall of the right external auditory canal and a right vertebral artery dissection. An MRI showed a small subacute subdural hematoma and a temporal bone fracture. (CI. Ex. 1, p. 1)          Shawn went to the UIHC for his follow-up care. He was overwhelmed by the number of doctors he had to see. He was having to travel to see doctors daily. Shawn requested a doctor be assigned to oversee his care in the hopes that his appointments could be coordinated so he would not have to go daily. He was referred to Eric W. Aschenbrenner, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon from the UIHC. Both Shawn and his wife, Nicole, testified that Dr. Aschenbrennerwas arrogant, simply wanted to move them along, and he was not helpful. They said the doctor did not listen to Shawn's concerns. Rather than helping to coordinate care, Dr. Aschenbrenner ended up being just another doctor that Shawn had to see. Shawn expressed his dissatisfaction with Dr. Aschenbrenner to a representative of the workers' compensation insurance carrier, but Dr. Aschenbrenner remained the authorized treating doctor.          On May 9, 2018, Dr. Aschenbrenner saw Shawn for a review of his symptoms and an evaluation of related function to help determine recommendations regarding possible impairment. He noted that he last saw Shawn on October 18, 2017. At that time, he had placed Shawn at MMI without any permanent restrictions. The notes from the May 2018 appointment state that Shawn had no pain that day. He did occasionally experience headaches, but he had a technique he utilized to avoid letting the headache become too bothersome. Intermittently, Shawn had some discomfort by his right scapula, particularly if he tried to use his bow. He did have some history of dizziness after the accident, and if he was on a lift he still felt his dizziness coming on. Shawn used breathing strategies to calm his dizziness, but he would still feel weird for about another hour. He reported that he had not used a stepiadder yet because he had anxiety about going back on a ladder. When working at heights he was now more aware of the heights and careful to make certain he was secure. Since the work incident, if he laid on his right arm too long, he developed numbness in his entire right upper extremity. He still experienced popping by his right shoulder and still had discomfort in his collarbone region. The diagnoses included: chronic right shoulder pain, closed nondisplaced fracture of shaft of right clavicle with routine healing, subsequent encounter, personal history of traumatic brain injury, headache, dizzy, fracture of transverse process of thoracic vertebra with routine healing, and vertebral artery dissection. Dr. Aschenbrenner assigned 1 percent whole person impairment for the shoulder and an additional 6 percent whole person impairment for the thoracic spine. He assigned 2 percent whole person impairment for vestibular disorder from trauma to the head and his ongoing symptoms that intermittently affect his work-related activities on heights. Dr. Aschenbrenner noted that no particular impairment was assigned for the EAC anterior wall nondisplaced fracture and the vertebral artery dissection. He did not assess whether Shawn had any permanent impairment from the external auditory canal dissection or the vertebral artery dissection; Dr. Aschenbrenner deferred to the physicians who treated him for those conditions. (JE3, pp. 1-3)          On June 6, 2018, at the request of his attorney, Shawn saw Stanley J. Mathew, M.D. for an IME. Dr. Mathew opined that Shawn had sustained a total of 23 percent whole person impairment due to the December 9, 2016 work injury. He permanently restricted Shawn to avoid lifting over 20 pounds, repetitive pushing, pulling, and twisting, and patient should limit abduction and adduction of his shoulder. Dr. Mathew noted that Shawn was now at a higher risk for fall from heights. Additionally, he noted Shawn was at a higher risk for further degeneration of his right shoulder girdle with repetitive use and heavy lifting...