MARK TURNER, Employee/Respondent,
v.
SMDC MED. CTR. and BERKLEY RISK ADM’RS CO. LLC, Self-Insured Employer/Cross-Appellant,
and
MN DEP’T OF LABOR & INDUS./VRU, Appellant,
and
ST. LUKE’S CLINICS, Intervenor.
No. WC18-6238
Minnesota Workers Compensation
Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals
July 3, 2019
CAUSATION
- PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION. Where there is insufficient
medical opinion that establishes a causal connection between
the employee’s physical injury to his right little
finger and his alleged mental disability, the compensation
judge erred in finding that the employee had sustained a
compensable mental injury.
James
W. Balmer, Falsani, Balmer, Peterson & Balmer, Duluth,
Minnesota, for the Respondent.
Douglas J. Brown and Jordan T. Bugella, Brown & Carlson,
P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Cross-Appellant.
Lorelei M. Hoyer, Department of Labor and Industry/Office of
General Counsel, St. Paul, Minnesota for the Appellant.
Determined by: David A. Stofferahn, Judge, Patricia J. Milun,
Chief Judge, Deborah K. Sundquist, Judge
Compensation Judge: Jerome G. Arnold
Reversed.
OPINION
DAVID
A. STOFFERAHN, Judge.
Intervenor
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry/Vocational
Rehabilitation Unit (DOLI/VRU) appeals the compensation
judge’s failure to address its claim for reimbursement
of rehabilitation expenses. The self-insured employer
cross-appeals from the compensation judge’s finding
that the employee’s fear of returning to work after an
injury resulted in a compensable claim. We reverse that
finding and dismiss the intervenor’s appeal based on
our determination of the employer’s cross-appeal.
BACKGROUND
Mark
Turner, the employee, began working as a security guard for
SMDC Medical Center, the employer, in 2010. His duties
included entry control, monitoring security cameras,
providing backup to other security guards, and helping with
disruptive and violent patients. The employee testified that
as his employment progressed, violent occurrences started to
happen quite regularly. He told his family doctor, Dr.
Timothy Kufahl, that in the ER zone where he worked, there
was a physical altercation “just about weekly.”
On
November 16, 2016, the employee was summoned to the
behavioral health clinic to help subdue an aggressive
patient. The employee and three other guards tried to control
the patient and in the ensuing altercation, the patient
grabbed the employee’s right little finger and bent it
backwards until it touched the back of the employee’s
hand. After the incident, the employee went to the
hospital’s emergency room. He stated during his visit
there that his finger had popped back into place when he made
a fist. X-rays were taken and were read as showing no
fracture or dislocation. The employee was treated there by
having his little finger taped to another finger. The
employee was told he should ice the affected area, use
Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain relief, and follow-up with his
primary care physician, if necessary. There is no record of
the employee receiving any further care for his finger at any
time after that appointment.
The
employee continued to work as a security guard for the
employer without restrictions and did not miss any time from
work.[1] The employee testified at the
hearing that he became anxious about going into the
behavioral health unit because of his fear of becoming
involved in another altercation. On December 14, 2016, the
employee requested that his job duties be modified. The
employer could not accommodate the employee’s request
and the employee did not return to work with...
