NED E. HOOD (Appellant)
v.
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (Appellee)
Decision No. 18-5
App. Div. No. 16-0055
Maine Workers Compensation Decisions
State of Maine Workers’ Compensation Board
February 13, 2018
Argued: July 19, 2017
Attorney for Appellant: Benjamin K. Grant, Esq. MCTEAGUE,
HIGBEE Four Union Park
Attorneys for Appellee: Anne-Marie L. Storey, Esq. John K.
Hamer, Esq. RUDMAN WINCHELL
PANEL
MEMBERS: Administrative Law Judges Knopf, Goodnough, and
Hirtle
Hirtle, Administrative Law Judge.
[¶1]
Ned Hood appeals from a decision of a Workers’
Compensation Board administrative law judge (Elwin,
ALJ) granting, in part, Mr. Hood’s Petition for
Award and denying his Petition for Payment of Medical
Services regarding an August 28, 2009, work injury. The ALJ
adopted the medical opinion of an independent medical
examiner appointed pursuant to 39-A M.R.S.A. § 312
(Supp. 2017) to find that the effects of Mr. Hood’s
respiratory injury ended after approximately one month. Mr.
Hood argues that the ALJ erred by failing to make sufficient
factual findings concerning how she weighed the medical
opinion of a board-appointed medical examiner against other
expert opinions. We agree in part and remand the decision for
further findings.
I.
BACKGROUND
[¶2]
Ned Hood suffered a respiratory injury while working for the
Department of Corrections on August 28, 2009, when he was
exposed to epoxy paint fumes. Following his injury, Mr. Hood
continued to work his regular job duties until experiencing
chest pain, difficulty breathing, and profuse sweating on
December 4, 2014. He has not worked for the Department of
Corrections since that time. Mr. Hood then brought the
pending petitions and alleged that the lasting effects of his
respiratory injury contributed to the symptoms that began on
December 4, 2014, and resulted in compensable earning
incapacity under the Workers’ Compensation Act.
[¶3]
As part of the litigation process, the board referred Mr.
Hood to an independent medical examiner pursuant to 39-A
M.R.S.A. § 312. No motion was made before the
examination to disqualify the independent medical examiner.
[¶4]
In his report, the examiner opined that Mr. Hood likely
suffered a work-related respiratory injury on August 28,
2009, but that the effects of his injury likely resolved by...
