GEORGE WEBBER
v.
UTILIDATA, INC.
W.C.C. No. 2016-06046
Rhode Island Worker Compensation
State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Providence, SC
April 30, 2020
FINAL
DECREE OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This
matter came on to be heard by the Appellate Division upon the
claim of appeal of the petitioner/employee and upon
consideration thereof, the employee's appeal is denied
and dismissed, and it is hereby
ORDERED,
ADJUDGED, AND DECREED:
That
the findings of fact and the orders contained in a decree of
this Court entered on April 20, 2017 be, and they hereby are,
affirmed.
PER
ORDER:
Nicholas
DiFilippo, Administrator
DECISION
OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
OLSSON, J.
This
matter is before the Appellate Division on the employee's
claim of appeal from the decision and decree of the trial
judge denying an allegation of his original petition that he
suffered a loss of earning capacity from July 6, 2016 through
November 4, 2016, due to a right trigger finger injury he
sustained in December 2015. At the pretrial conference, the
parties stipulated that the employee developed a work-related
right trigger finger. The trial judge entered a pretrial
order awarding the employee partial incapacity benefits from
July 6, 2016 to November 4, 2016. From this pretrial order,
the employer filed a timely claim for trial. Following trial,
the judge found against the employee, citing a lack of
evidence that the injury had caused a loss of earning
capacity, and the employee filed a claim of appeal. After a
comprehensive review of the record and consideration of the
arguments of both parties, we deny the employee's appeal
and affirm the decision and decree of the trial judge.
George
Webber (the employee), who is right-hand dominant, testified
he worked as a data analyst, writing, programming, and
running computer codes for Utilidata, Inc. (the employer). On
or about December 1, 2015, he experienced an onset of pain
and swelling in his hand and index finger after operating the
computer mouse continuously for a number of hours. The
employee continued to work without interruption until July 1,
2016, when he was laid off.
The
employee related that, in the seven (7) month interim between
the December 1, 2015 onset of injury and his July 1, 2016
layoff, "I had to switch over to using the left hand
with my mouse, and I could do it, although that's
definitely not my preferred way of operation." Tr. at
19:16-18, The employee said he also noticed a dull pain in
his finger when writing. He eventually met with his primary
care provider, Dr. Russell Zide, who took x-rays and referred
him to an occupational therapist, whom he saw on one occasion
in June of 2016. The therapist provided him a hand splint to
wear at night which immobilized his right index finger.
After
his layoff, the employee began treating with Dr. Scott T.
Schmidt on July 6, 2016, the earliest appointment the doctor
had available. He asserted that he informed the doctor that
he had been laid off. The employee initially applied for
unemployment benefits immediately following his layoff but
did not complete the process. After discussion with Dr.
Schmidt, the employee applied for and received Temporary
Disability Insurance benefits. Dr. Schmidt advised him to not
use the mouse with his right hand, as that was the primary
aggravating activity, and avoid doing anything else that
aggravated his symptoms.
The
employee explained that his job primarily involved computer
work but he also did some writing each day in order to make
notes to himself on printed copies of code he was working on
and to keep track of tasks. He asserted that note-taking
computer programs were not appropriate for this function.
On
cross-examination, the employee acknowledged that he never
made any complaints to his supervisors that he was having
difficulty performing his job and did not report the injury
until after he was laid off. He agreed his job...
