AMANDA L. FEARS, EMPLOYEE CLAIMANT
v.
TRAVEL NURSE ACROSS AMERICA, LLC, EMPLOYER RESPONDENT
And
STARR INDEMNITY INSURANCE & LIABILITY CO., INSURANCE CARRIER RESPONDENT
CLAIM No. H009176
Arkansas Workers Compensation
Before the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission
April 28, 2021
Hearing
before Administrative Law Judge, James D. Kennedy, on the
23rd day of March, 2021, in Little Rock, Pulaski
County, Arkansas.
Claimant is represented by Eddie Walker, Attorney at Law,
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Respondents are represented by James Lloyd, Attorney at Law,
Little Rock, Arkansas.
OPINION
JAMES
D. KENNEDY, Administrative Law Judge.
STATEMENT
OF THE CASE
A
hearing was conducted on March 23, 2021, to determine the
issue of compensability of a claimed work-related injury. At
the time of the hearing, the parties agreed that the sole
issue before the Commission was compensability and, if the
matter was found to be compensable, the claimant was entitled
to temporary total disability (TTD) from November 6, 2020,
until December 1, 2020, plus appropriate medical benefits and
attorney fees. The parties stipulated at the time of the
Pre-hearing Order that the Arkansas Workers’
Compensation Commission has jurisdiction of the within claim;
that an employer-employee relationship existed on November 5,
2020, the date of the claimed injury; and that the claimant
earned sufficient wages to earn a TTD/permanent partial
disability (PPD) rate of $711.00/ $533.00. A copy of the
Pre-hearing Order was marked “Commission Exhibit
1” and made part of the record without objection.
The
claimant’s and respondents’ responses were set
out in their respective responses to the Pre-hearing
Questionnaire and made a part of the record without
objection. The sole witness consisted of Amanda L. Fears, the
claimant. From a review of the record as a whole, to include
medical reports and other matters properly before the
Commission, and having had an opportunity to observe the
testimony and demeanor of the witness, the following findings
of fact and conclusions of law are made in accordance with
Ark. Code Ann. § 11-9-704.
FINDINGS
OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The
Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission has
jurisdiction over this claim.
2. That
an employer/employee relationship existed on November 5,
2020, the date of the claimed injury. At the time of the
claimed injury, the claimant earned sufficient wages to earn
a TTD/PPD rate of $711.00/$533.00.
3. That
the claimant has satisfied the required burden of proof to
show that she sustained a compensable work-related injury on
November 5, 2020.
4. That
the claimant is entitled to TTD from the date of November 6,
2020, until December 1, 2020, appropriate medical benefits,
and attorney fees pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 11-9-715.
This award shall bear interest at the legal rate pursuant to
Ark. Code Ann. § 11-9-809.
5. If
not already paid, the respondents are ordered to pay for the
cost of the transcript forthwith.
REVIEW
OF TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE
The
Pre-hearing Order, along with the Pre-hearing Questionnaires
of the parties, were admitted into the record without
objection. The claimant submitted one (1) exhibit that was
admitted into evidence without objection and consisted of
thirty-six (36) pages of medical records.
The
claimant was the sole witness and testified that she was an
employee of the respondent on November 5, 2020, worked as an
operating room nurse performing contract work across the
country, and on November 5, 2020, worked at a facility in
Little Rock, Arkansas, the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences (UAMS). (Tr. 5) She testified that besides the
operating room, which was her main job, she would go all over
the hospital getting patients, lab work, and delivering
pathology specimens. If she was not in the operating room,
that did not mean that she was not performing her job duties.
She worked twelve (12)-hour shifts and would clock in at 6:30
a.m. and work until the shift was over, which would have been
at 7:00 p.m., when she would clock out, unless she was on
call. (Tr. 6) She would not clock out for lunch or breaks.
She was paid for the entire period of time, except for a
thirty (30)-minute lunch break that she was expected to take
on her own time, but that sometimes she was unable to take
the break due to the fact that she was too busy. If she was
unable to take a lunch break, she testified, “You grab
a snack between surgeries and hope for the best. They keep
peanut butter and crackers for us all the time.” (Tr.
7)
On
November 5, 2020, the...
