BRADLEY S. HANSON, Employee/Respondent,
v.
SCHLEIS FLOOR COVERING, INC., and REGENT INS. CO./QBE OF N. AM., Employer- Insurer/Respondent
v.
OMNI/INTERIOR CONSTR. SERVS. and GALLAGHER BASSETT SERVS., INC., Employer-Insurer/Appellants, and MN DEED, Intervenor.
No. WC20-6351
Minnesota Workers Compensation
Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals
September 23, 2020
CAUSATION
– AGGRAVATION. Substantial evidence, including
well-founded medical opinions, supports the compensation
judge’s decisions regarding the nature and extent of
the employee’s work injuries and corresponding
allocation of responsibility for knee replacement surgery.
EVIDENCE
- EXPERT MEDICAL OPINION. A determination of the nature and
extent of a work injury by the compensation judge is not
limited to the well-founded opinions of the medical experts
in the record, so long as the judge’s determination is
supported by substantial evidence.
JOB
SEARCH - SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. The compensation judge’s
determination that the employee conducted an adequate job
search is supported by substantial evidence in the record
where the employee’s physical limitations and
specialized skills limited possible openings and the employee
was released to work for only a short period.
David
M. Bialke, Bialke Law, Coon Rapids, Minnesota, for the
Employee Respondent.
David
O. Nirenstein, Fitch, Johnson, Larson & Held, P.A.,
Roseville, Minnesota, for the Employer/ Insurer Respondents.
Katie
H. Storms, Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson,
Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Employer/Insurer Appellants.
Determined by: Gary M. Hall, Judge, David A. Stofferahn,
Judge, Sean M. Quinn, Judge
Compensation Judge: Sandra J. Grove
Affirmed.
OPINION
GARY
M. HALL, Judge.
Employer
Omni Interior Construction Services (Omni), self-insured,
appeals the compensation judge’s findings that the
employee’s work injury was a substantial contributing
factor to the need for knee replacement surgery, that Omni
bears 100 percent of the responsibility for the benefits
awarded, and that the employee is entitled to temporary total
disability benefits. As substantial evidence supports the
decision, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
The
employee, Bradley Hanson, played Division III football in
1982 for the University of Minnesota/ Morris. In the last
game of the 1982 season, the employee suffered a right knee
injury for which he underwent physical rehabilitation. In
1983, the employee was playing pick-up basketball when he
re-injured his right knee. Later that year, when the injury
had not resolved, the employee underwent right knee
arthroscopic surgery.[1] After rehabilitation following the
surgery, the employee experienced no pain symptoms and
enjoyed full range of motion in his right knee. After leaving
college in 1984, the employee began working in construction.
In 1990, the employee started work as a union floor covering
installer, which required the employee to spend significant
time on his knees, wearing knee pads, to install carpet, wood
flooring, and vinyl flooring. The employee engaged in this
employment until he was taken off of work due to a work
injury in 2018.
On July
25, 2008, the employee was working for Omni. The employee was
on his knees when he felt a pop or slip in his right knee
along with immediate sharp pain. Conservative treatment was
ordered. When the employee’s symptoms did not improve,
he was referred to an orthopedist, Gavin T. Pittman, M.D. An
MRI of the employee’s right knee showed a chronic ACL
tear, extensive loss of medial meniscus, significant
degenerative arthritis, moderate patellofemoral
chondromalacia, calcified loose bodies, and patellar
tendinopathy. (Ex. G.) Dr. Pittman’s August 15, 2008,
chart note states: “[the employee’s] occupation
as a floor installer likely has lead [sic] to this
advancement of his degeneration at a young age.” Dr.
Pittman recommended arthroscopic surgery. (Ex. 9.)
On
September 4, 2008, the employee underwent an independent
medical examination (IME) conducted by Paul Cederberg, M.D.,
on behalf of Omni. Dr. Cederberg opined that the
employee’s work injury was a...