Robinson Property Group, L.P., et al. v. Newton
| Docket Number: | 2006-WC-01288-COA Linked Case(s): 2006-WC-01288-COA ; 2006-CT-01288-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 10-02-2007 Opinion Author: MYERS, P.J. Holding: Reversed and Rendered |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Workers’ compensation - Admission of medical records - Section 71-3-61 - MWCC Procedural Rule 9 - MWCC Procedural Rule 14 - Intervening employment Judge(s) Concurring: LEE, P.J., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WORKERS' COMPENSATION |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 07-05-2006 Appealed from: TUNICA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Al Smith Disposition: CIRCUIT COURT AFFIRMED THE DECISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION AWARDING BENEFITS TO THE CLAIMANT. Case Number: 2005-0324 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | ROBINSON PROPERTY GROUP, LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP, D/B/A HORSESHOE CASINO AND
HOTEL, AND INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE
STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA |
GEORGE E. DENT |
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| Appellee: | CARRIE NEWTON | CARRIE J. NEWTON (PRO SE) |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Workers’ compensation - Admission of medical records - Section 71-3-61 - MWCC Procedural Rule 9 - MWCC Procedural Rule 14 - Intervening employment |
| Summary of the Facts: | Carrie Newton was initially hired by Horseshoe Casino in December 1996 and was employed during her first stint of employment with Horseshoe through January 26, 1998. During this employment period, Newton filed a petition to controvert, alleging that her card dealing duties caused carpal tunnel syndrome. Horseshoe admitted compensability for the carpal tunnel injury and provided medical benefits and temporary total disability benefits, but denied permanent disability benefits and Newton’s claim of loss of wage-earning capacity. After Newton’s carpal tunnel treatment ended and she was released to work without restrictions, she claimed she continued to experience pain. Approximately three years later, Newton’s doctor found that Newton’s focal dystonia was aggravated by her work. Newton was awarded temporary total disability benefits covering several time periods and permanent disability benefits for a period of fifty weeks. The Commission and circuit court subsequently adopted the administrative judge’s findings and affirmed. Horseshoe appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Horseshoe argues that the Commission erroneously relied on medical record evidence not properly introduced into the record in awarding Newton workers’ compensation benefits. The record shows that during the hearing the administrative judge admitted the medical records of Newton’s doctor into evidence without proper authentication, despite Newton’s noncompliance with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission Procedural Rule 9. Under section 71-3-61, the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission has the discretion to enlarge the scope of the record and relax rules of discovery applicable to hearings. However, while the Commission is to be given deference in applying and interpreting its own rules, the concern of ensuring due process still remains. Due process dictates that the Commission is to follow its own procedural due process principles in conducting its duties of administering workers’ compensation claims. In this case the Commission accepted unauthenticated medical records that were derived as a result of faulty information, without proper introduction as required by MWCC Procedural Rule 9, and utilized the records as a basis for awarding compensation. While MWCC Procedural Rule 14 allows the Commission or administrative judge to deviate from the procedural rules insofar as compliance therewith may be found to be impossible or impracticable, the unauthenticated medical records in this case, which contained the opinion that Newton suffered focal dystonia as a result of her work, were grounded on the mistaken belief that Newton was currently and had been dealing cards for Horseshoe since 1997, and did not account for Newton’s intervening employment elsewhere. Therefore, the Commission’s decision in awarding the temporary total disability and permanent disability benefits for a condition improperly causally connected to the claimant’s work was erroneous. The disability awards based on the finding that Newton suffered focal dystonia as a result of her work with Horseshoe are reversed and rendered. Horseshoe also argues that the Commission erred in awarding temporary total disability benefits for focal dystonia relating to Newton’s treatment sought and received in 2004, because Newton was not, nor had been employed with Horseshoe for some time. The slim evidence supporting the Commission’s finding that Newton’s treatment in 2004 was related to a condition of focal dystonia incurred as a result of her card dealing for Horseshoe in 1997 pales in comparison to the overwhelming weight of the evidence to the contrary. Thus, the award for temporary total disability for the period in 2004 was granted in error. |
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