AMY R. LUCKENBUX-WHEE
v.
NAPHCARE INC TRAVELERS INDEMNITY CO OF AMERICA, Insurance Carrier TRAVELERS INDEMNITY CO OF AMER, Claim
Administrator Jurisdiction Claim No. VA00001593826
Virginia in the Workers' Compensation Commission
May 27, 2021
Claim
Administrator File No. FLJ6883
Date
of Injury: April 12, 2019
John
T. Cornett, Jr., Esquire For the Claimant. [1]
Chanda
W. Stepney, Esquire For the Defendants.
NEWMAN
Commissioner
REVIEW
on the record by Commissioner Marshall, Commissioner Newman,
and Commissioner Rapaport at Richmond, Virginia.
The
claimant requested review of the Deputy Commissioner's
February 17, 2021 Opinion finding she did not suffer
compensable injuries to her neck and back as a result of her
April 12, 2019 accident. We AFFIRM.
I.
Material Proceedings
The
claimant, a licensed clinical social worker/mental health
professional, alleged injuries to her low back, neck, right
thigh, right hip, right knee, right shoulder, and right elbow
when she slipped and fell on April 12, 2019. She sought an
award of medical benefits and temporary total disability
beginning November 5, 2019. The defendants stipulated to a
right shoulder contusion and right hip contusion. The Deputy
Commissioner found the claimant proved injuries to the right
hip and right shoulder beyond the stipulated contusions, but
found that the claimant failed to prove any compensable
injuries to the other alleged body parts. The Deputy
Commissioner also awarded continuing temporary total
disability benefits beginning March 5, 2020.
The
claimant requested review of the Deputy Commissioner's
finding that claimant's neck and back conditions were not
causally related to her work accident.
II.
Findings of Fact and Rulings of Law
The
claimant testified that she has treated for chronic neck and
low back conditions for many years. On April 12, 2019, she
was walking at work, when she slipped and fell on a wet
floor, landing on her right side. The claimant completed two
incident reports. In the NAPH Care Incident Report, the
claimant wrote: "I walked next to food cart and my feet
completely fell out from under me/slipped and fell right onto
my [right] side - hip/[right] shoulder/knee." She
indicated that she felt extreme pain on her right side and
hip area. In another incident report, she stated she hit her
hip and right side when she fell on a slippery floor. She
listed the following injured body parts: "Pain, swollen,
red, and sprained [right] side of body - hip/upper thigh,
knee, shoulder, arm & possible head."
The
medical records prior to the work accident show that the
claimant had treated for chronic issues for many years. On
March 5, 2019, Dr. Robert B. Hansen diagnosed chronic neck
pain post fusion and chronic low back pain from degenerative
spine disease, noting the claimant had been in pain
management for many years, including five years since coming...
