CHRISTINE WATSON
v.
BAY AREA VETERINARY SURGERY, P.C PROP & CAS INS CO OF HARTFORD, Insurance Carrier
PROP & CAS INS CO OF HARTFORD, Claim Administrator
Jurisdiction Claim No. VA00001779043
Virginia Workers Compensation
Virginia In The Workers' Compensation Commission
June 16, 2021
Date
of Injury October 15, 2020
Claim
Administrator File No. Y97C 86605
Christine L. Watson Claimant, pro se.
Jeffrey W. Saunders, Esquire For the Defendants.
REVIEW
on the record by Commissioner Marshall, Commissioner Newman,
and Commissioner Rapaport at Richmond, Virginia.
OPINION
MARSHALL Commissioner
The
claimant requests review of the Deputy Commissioner's
January 28, 2021 Opinion which denied her claim. We AFFIRM on
different grounds.
I.
Material Proceedings
The
claimant filed October 29, 2020 and October 30, 2020 claims
alleging an injury by accident on October 15, 2020. She
requested a lifetime medical award and payment of medical
expenses for panic attack, anxiety and chest tightness.
The
defendants disputed the occurrence of a compensable injury by
accident arising out of and in the course of her employment.
They asserted the medical records did not support a
work-related injury. They denied the claimant was an employee
at the time of the October 15,2020 incident.
The
Deputy Commissioner took testimony, admitted the
defendants' medical designation and considered all
medical evidence in the file. The claimant, a veterinary
surgeon, testified about interactions with her supervisor on
October 15, 2020. Her supervisor, Christopher Dassler, a
veterinary surgeon and practice owner, and Kelsie Hayes, a
veterinary assistant, also testified.
After
her review of the evidence, the Deputy Commissioner found the
claimant was not an employee of Bay Area Veterinary Surgery
at the time of the alleged accident. She found the claimant
began to have physical symptoms after she was fired.
Drs.
Watson and Dassler testified that after a conversation about
a surgical case, the claimant said she was going to leave.
Dr. Dassler told the claimant if she left, she was fired. The
claimant then walked into a general treatment area, where she
encountered Kelsie Hayes and other employees. The claimant
and Ms. Hayes testified the claimant said she had to get her
dog and "I guess I am fired." (Tr. 5.) Dr. Dassler...