KRISTINA FRANZEN-DERRICK, Employee/Petitioner,
v.
LIFE LINE SCREENING OF AM. and CHUBB GROUP OF INS. CO., Employer-Insurer/Respondents.
No. WC18-6160
Minnesota Workers Compensation
Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals
January 4, 2019
VACATION
OF AWARD - SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN CONDITION. Where the
evidence is not sufficient to support an unanticipated
substantial change in condition, the employee’s
petition to vacate the award on stipulation is denied.
Raymond R. Peterson, McCoy Peterson, Ltd., Minneapolis,
Minnesota, for the Petitioner.
D.
Jeffrey Pricco, Aafedt, Forde, Gray, Monson & Hager, P.
A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Respondents.
Determined by: Sean M. Quinn, Judge, David A. Stofferahn,
Judge, Gary M. Hall, Judge
Petition
to vacate denied.
OPINION
SEAN
M. QUINN, Judge
The
employee petitions to vacate an Award on Stipulation filed on
October 28, 2009. Because the employee has failed to show an
unanticipated substantial change in her medical condition
causally related to her work injury, we decline to grant the
petition.
BACKGROUND
Pre-existing
medical issues
Before
suffering her work injury, Kristina Franzen-Derrick, the
employee, had complaints of pain in her spine, chronic pain,
and issues with misuse of pain medication.
On
April 9, 2004, the employee saw Dr. David Von Weiss at Park
Nicollet Clinic, complaining of pain throughout the spine and
potentially fibromyalgia, reported as intense pain in her
back from the neck all the way down to the low back and
radiating into the thigh. He prescribed anti-inflammatories
and over-the-counter pain medication. On May 20, 2004, the
employee saw Dr. Von Weiss for flank pain potentially due to
kidney stones, fibromyalgia, and chronic low back pain. She
requested additional help for pain management as
antiinflammatories were not particularly helpful. She was
prescribed narcotic pain medication, but was required to
complete a pain contract in light of numerous prior visits at
a different clinic for narcotic pain medications. Subsequent
drug screening from the May 20, 2004, visit with Dr. Von
Weiss was positive for marijuana, and he advised her that he
would not be prescribing additional narcotic pain medication.
On June 14, 2004, the employee saw Dr. Von Weiss for low back
pain. Noting her history of opioid use and positive drug
screening for marijuana, he refused to prescribe additional
narcotic pain medication.
The
work injury and surgery
On July
24, 2004, the employee suffered an admitted injury working
for Life Line Screening of America, the employer. While
lifting ultrasound equipment into a van, she felt neck pain.
The pain did not subside. On August 31, 2004, the employee
underwent a C6 corpectomy, a C5-6 discectomy on the right,
and a discectomy on the left side at C6-7, performed by Dr.
Jeffrey Dick.
Post-injury
medical care and other injuries
On
November 23, 2004, the employee saw Tricia Wallentine, P.A.,
at Park Nicollet for, among other things, depression. She was
encouraged to continue with anti-depression medications and
to stop smoking. On March 27, 2005, the employee was seen at
Fairview Ridges Hospital with low back pain after lifting a
suitcase off a baggage claim at the airport. On April 17,
2005, the employee saw Dr. Larik Woronzoff-Dashkoff at Park
Nicollet with complaints of low back pain which had become
worse over the past few days, and concerns about an upcoming
airline trip. She was prescribed narcotic pain medication.
On
December 8, 2004, Dr. Paul Cederberg completed a report after
examining the employee at the request of the employer and
insurer. He diagnosed the employee with an extruded disc at
C5-6 with a history of preexisting degenerative disc disease
at C5-6 and C6-7, as well as a history of fibromyalgia. He
opined that the surgery at C5-6 and at C6-7 was reasonable
and necessary, and that the herniation for which she needed
surgery at the C5-6 level was caused or aggravated by the
2004 work injury.
On
August 3, 2005, the employee saw Dr. Joseph Perra, who
suggested an implantable stimulator. Dr. Perra believed that
if it was not successful, perhaps surgical fusion would be
appropriate. He also encouraged smoking cessation. The
employee wanted to go ahead with fusion surgery, but Dr.
Perra encouraged the stimulator first.
In
December 2005, the employee underwent surgery performed by
Dr. Perra, which included a C5-7 cervical fusion and a right
C7 hemi-laminectomy, and a few days later, the removal of the
right C7 screw. During her hospital stay, the employee was
evaluated by Dr. Matthew Monsein, who assessed chronic pain
syndrome and opiate tolerance. He noted her high tolerance
for narcotics and ordered an even higher dosage of
medication.
On May
3, 2006, the employee underwent a CT scan of the cervical
spine, which showed a solid fusion from C5-7. On June 29,
2006, the employee reported to Dr. John Clark at Park
Nicollet with complaints of acute back pain for two and a
half weeks with no specific injury. The employee was
prescribed narcotic pain medication. On July 7, 2006, the
employee had an EMG and nerve conduction study done at Noran
Neurological. The results were normal. On July 18, 2006, Dr.
John Decker of Apple Valley Medical Clinic diagnosed the
employee with chronic pain syndrome and depression due to her
condition. He recommended additional anti-depressants. On
July 25, 2006, the employee underwent an MRI of the neck,
which showed a minor disc bulge at the C4-5 level, with a
solid fusion from C5-7. On July 26, 2006, the employee was
seen at Noran Neurological for her persistent neck pain and
constant occipital headaches. Testing showed no significant
issue. The doctor noted the employee was disappointed nothing
was found to be objectively wrong with her. He felt she
needed a comprehensive pain clinic. On August 10, 2006, the
employee reported to Dr. Ann Strong at Park Nicollet with
worsening low back pain. She was prescribed narcotic pain
medications.
Dr.
Cederberg completed a second report on October 3, 2006, after
re-examining the employee at the request of the employer and
insurer. He diagnosed the employee with disc herniation at
C5-6 and a history of C5-7 fusion with pseudoarthrosis. He
opined that her fusion at C5-6 was due to the July 2004 work
injury but the fusion at C6-7 was due to pre-existing
degeneration of the neck. He stated that treatment with
anti-depressant medication appeared to be reasonable,
although he had no opinion as to whether depression was
related to her neck injury, and that a chronic pain program
was not needed as she was under reasonable control with
Vicodin and Cymbalta. He also indicated the employee had
reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), had a 17 percent
permanent partial disability rating for her neck, and could
work at the light-sedentary level with no use of her arms
overhead, no holding her neck in a static position for more
than 15 minutes, and no lifting more than 20 pounds. The
employer and insurer paid the employee for the 17 percent
rating.
On
October 25, 2006, the employee saw Dr. Perra for a chronic
pain consultation. She was said to have suffered headaches of
unknown etiology, was status post two-level fusion, was not
experiencing a significant amount of neck pain, had a history
of hand and finger color changes of uncertain etiology, and
had increased depression.
On
November 20, 2006, Dr. Thomas Gratzer issued a report after
examining the employee at the request of the employer and
insurer. Dr. Gratzer diagnosed the employee with an
adjustment disorder with depressed mood and related the
adjustment disorder to her July 2004 work injury. He also
found she had reached MMI relative to her adjustment disorder
and needed no additional medical care. He placed no
limitations on her from a psychiatric perspective. As part of
that examination with Dr. Gratzer, the employee took an MMPI
test with Dr. Marvin Logel. Dr. Logel interpreted the MMPI
test as suggesting somatoform disorder and personality
disorder with dependent features. He went on to state that
the employee might also have a depressive disorder, anxiety
disorder, and a psychophysiological gastrointestinal
disorder.
On
December 22, 2006, the...
