ROBYN YOUNG, Petitioner,
v.
GRANITE SCHOOL DISTRICT, Respondent.
No. 18-0735
Utah Workers Compensation Decisions
Utah Labor Commission
October 30, 2020
ORDER
ON MOTION FOR REVIEW
ORDER
OF REMAND
Kathleen Bounous, Chair
Granite
School District (“Granite”) asks the Appeals
Board of the Utah Labor Commission to review Administrative
Law Judge Holley’s preliminary award of permanent total
disability compensation to Robyn Young under the Utah
Workers’ Compensation Act, Title 34A, Chapter 2, Utah
Code Annotated.
The
Appeals Board exercises jurisdiction over this motion for
review pursuant to §63G-4-301 of the Utah Administrative
Procedures Act and §34A-2-801(4) of the Utah
Workers’ Compensation Act.
BACKGROUND
AND ISSUES PRESENTED
Ms.
Young claims workers’ compensation benefits for head
injuries she sustained while working for Granite on March 14,
2013, and on March 26, 2014. Ms. Young previously claimed
benefits related to such injuries in case number 15-0113,
which was adjudicated before Judge Trayner. That case
prompted referral of the medical aspects of the claim to an
impartial medical panel, which determined, among other
things, that the work accidents medically caused mild
traumatic brain injuries along with concussion,
post-concussive syndrome, and aggravation of her pre-existing
anxiety and depression. The panel added that Ms. Young
reached medical stability from her work injury as of December
2015.
Judge
Trayner relied on the medical panel’s opinion over
Granite’s objection and awarded medical benefits and
temporary disability compensation to Ms. Young based on the
date of medical stability outlined by the panel. Granite
sought review of Judge Trayner’s decision by arguing
that it was error to rely on the medical panel’s
opinion in light of the contrary medical evidence. The
Commission reviewed the evidence presented and affirmed Judge
Trayner’s decision.
Ms.
Young subsequently filed a claim for permanent total
disability compensation stemming from the same 2013 and 2014
work injuries, which claim is the subject of the current
matter. Judge Holley held an evidentiary hearing on Ms.
Young’s present claim and entered a preliminary award
of permanent total disability benefits after finding that Ms.
Young had met the elements for such an award. Judge Holley
also concluded that a recovery obtained by Ms. Young against
a collection agency seeking payment for treatment of her work
injuries was separate from the workers’ compensation
proceedings and not subject to subrogation.
Granite
now seeks review of Judge Holley’s decision from the
Appeals Board by arguing that it was error not to submit
certain medical issues in the present case to an impartial
medical panel. Granite also contends that Ms. Young does not
meet all the requirements for a preliminary award of
permanent total disability compensation. Granite submits that
Judge Holley erred in finding that Ms. Young’s recovery
against debt collectors should not be subrogated.
FINDINGS
OF FACT
The
Appeals Board finds the following facts, including those
established through the adjudication of Ms. Young’s
previous claim in case number 15-0113, to be material to
Granite’s motion for review.
Ms.
Young’s Background and Work Accidents
Ms.
Young was born in 1984. At age 19, she began working as a
para professional in the Salt Lake City School District
assisting teachers in the classroom. She later worked for the
Park City School District as a special-education teacher for
students with severe disabilities. Ms. Young worked for
Granite as a special education elementary school teacher. Her
position with Granite required her to work eight hours per
day and interact with special-needs students all day long.
Ms.
Young worked for Granite as a Resource Teacher, which
required her to work with students that had behavioral and
social problems. On March 14, 2013, Ms. Young was sitting
behind a sixth-grade student when he threw his head back and
struck Ms. Young in the face three times. She was diagnosed
with a concussion and was off work until April 12, 2013.
On
March 26, 2014, Ms. Young was involved in an altercation with
a third-grade student. The student came up behind Ms. Young
and punched her in the left cheek with a closed fist, causing
Ms. Young’s head to be jerked to the right. As Ms.
Young and two other individuals worked to restrain the
student, she grabbed and forcefully pulled Ms. Young’s
hair in an attempt to pull her to the ground. The student
then grabbed another part of Ms. Young’s hair and her
head was jerked around before the student’s hands could
be released. Ms. Young also describes that the student bit
her on the arm and kicked her several times. Although Ms.
Young continued to work the remainder of the day after the
altercation, she contacted the school principal over the
weekend to report that she was not feeling well.
Medical
Care
Ms.
Young was treated at WorkMed and diagnosed with a closed-head
injury and a facial contusion. She was released to return to
work on April 18, 2014, but she complained of chronic
headaches and went to the emergency room on May 23, 2014, and
again on June 3, 2014, with headache and facial droop
symptoms. Dr. Houts assessed Ms. Young with post-concussive
headaches and depression.
Ms.
Young was referred to Dr. Peterson, who assessed her with
migraine headaches and facial weakness. Dr. Peterson opined
that Ms. Young suffered from post-concussive syndrome with
emotional and cognitive components. On July 28, 2014, Dr.
Peterson diagnosed Ms. Young with severe complications from
recurrent migraines that “snowballed” since her
head trauma in March 2013 and March 2014. Dr. Peterson opined
that Ms. Young had facial droop (referred to as Bell’s
palsy in the treatment notes), ear pain, light sensitivity,
foot dyskinesias, and limb weakness due to migraine headaches
resulting from the March 2014 work accident. Dr. Peterson
added that Ms. Young was not medically stable from her work
injury and that she required further treatment.
One of
Granite’s medical consultants, Dr. Paul Williams,
evaluated Ms. Young in September 2014. Dr. Williams opined
that Ms. Young sustained a closed-head injury as a result of
the 2014 work accident. Dr. Williams added that Ms. Young was
not medically stable from her work injury.
In
February 2015, Dr. Petersen released Ms. Young to light-duty
work of no more than two hours per day and six to ten hours
per week. Dr. Peterson noted Ms. Young needed a work
environment with low light and low noise to mitigate her
migraines. In the first week of her light-duty work, Ms.
Young awoke with a migraine headache, facial drooping, and
paralysis in her hands and feet. Dr. Peterson noted that Ms.
Young was experiencing episodes of extreme fatigue after
working just a couple of hours per day and that if she worked
longer than six to ten hours per week she needs a couple of
days to recover, which prevents her from working on a daily
basis. Granite informed Ms. Young that it would not
accommodate her light-duty restrictions and terminated her
employment as of February 22, 2015.
Granite’s
medical consultant, Dr. Mattingly, evaluated Ms. Young in
July 2015 and opined that her ongoing symptoms are not a
result of the accident. Dr. Mattingly concluded that Ms.
Young sustained only a mild head injury and facial injury
from the accident and reached medical stability from such
injuries on April 18, 2014. Dr. Houston, another consultant
for Granite, concurred with Dr. Mattingly’s opinion
regarding Ms. Young’s date of medical stability for her
work injuries and added that pre-existing psychological
factors played an overriding role in Ms. Young’s
ongoing physical and cognitive complaints.
Medical
Panel Report from Case Number 15-0113
Judge
Trayner referred the medical aspects of Ms. Young’s
claim to an impartial medical panel consisting of Dr. Jarvis,
an occupational-medicine expert, Dr. James, a neurologist,
and Dr. Pompa, a clinical psychologist. The medical panel
reviewed Ms. Young’s relevant...
