No. 03078495 (1999). EMPLOYEE: Harry T. Spearman.

• Case Date: May 06, 1999
• Court: Massachusetts

Massachusetts Workers Compensation 1999. No. 03078495 (1999). EMPLOYEE: Harry T. Spearman COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS EMPLOYEE: Harry T. Spearman EMPLOYER: Purity Supreme INSURER: Purity SupremeBOARD NO. 03078495EMPLOYER: Burger King INSURER: Eastern CasualtyBOARD NO. 04419895REVIEWING BOARD DECISION (Judges Levine, Carroll and Maze-Rothstein)APPEARANCES Michael Lynn, Esq., for the employee Monique Chiacchia, Esq., for the self-insurer at hearing Joyce E. Davis, Esq., for the self-insurer on brief John A. Smillie, Esq., for the insurer, Eastern Casualty LEVINE, J. The self-insurer appeals the decision of an administrative judge ordering the self-insurer, rather than the successive insurer, to pay benefits to the employee. The self-insurer argues that the judge failed to properly apply the successive insurer rule and that the judge's finding that the employee did not incur a new injury in his subsequent employment is inconsistent with his finding that the employee's subsequent work activities worsened his condition. We disagree with the self-insurer and affirm the decision. Harry Spearman was thirty-five years old at the time of the hearing. His formal education ended after the eighth grade. (Dec. 4.) He has not earned a GED certificate. He began working for the self-insurer, Purity Supreme, in April 1995 as an overnight stocker of shelves. Id. His previous work experience was in low or semi-skilled food preparation and dishwashing positions. Id. On July 19, 1995, while pulling a pallet of food products up a ramp with a pallet jack, he felt a strain in his back accompanied by pain. Id. He went to the hospital where he was given pain medication. Thereafter he treated with a chiropractor. Id. The employee remained out of work until approximately September 14, 1995, when he commenced part-time work for Burger King. His duties at Burger King included lifting boxes of food weighing up to fifty pounds and, on occasion, moving trash bags and wiping tables. (Dec. 5.) He also took inventory, which required him to occasionally bend down or reach up. Both bending and reaching bothered him. He advanced to full-time employment as a supervisor. Id. Although he suffered no specific incident or injury and did not miss work due to his back condition, his work activities at Burger King bothered his back to the point where his condition worsened. Everything...