CLAIM NO. E910877
Before the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission
ORDER FILED OCTOBER 29, 2001
Upon review before the FULL COMMISSION in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
Claimant represented by the HONORABLE LAURA J. McKINNON, Attorney at Law, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Respondents represented by the HONORABLE MICHAEL E. RYBURN, Attorney at Law, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Decision of the Administrative Law Judge: Vacated and remanded.
ORDER
The claimant appeals an opinion and order filed by the Administrative Law Judge on June 13, 2001. In that opinion and order, the Administrative Law Judge found that the claimant has failed to establish an alleged knee injury by “objective findings” in the medical evidence to support his claim for compensability. In the alternative, the Administrative Law Judge found that “an attempt to delineate which incident by itself or in a combination with other incidents from January, 1999 on through July 19, 1999, is or are causing the claimant’s complaints of pain with his left knee, would require conjecture and speculation.” For the following reasons, we vacate the findings of the Administrative Law Judge and remand this case for additional findings.
The claimant was involved in a work-related automobile accident in January 1999. Thereafter, the claimant was involved in an incident on July 14, 1999, where he allegedly hyperextended his knee when a dog jumped a fence and attacked him. Shortly thereafter, the claimant was reading meters on July 19, 2001 when the claimant purportedly stepped in a hole in yet another dog bite incident.
The claimant initially presented to the Dardanelle Family Clinic on July 20, 1999, and was ultimately referred to an orthopedist, Dr. Bruce Brown, on August 2, 1999. With regard to the cause of the claimant’s knee problems at issue, Dr. Brown wrote to the claimant’s attorney in a letter on January 25, 2001:
Based upon objective medical findings and within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, it is my opinion that the patient sustained a work-related accidental injury on 07/14/99. This injury was the major cause 51% or more of the patient’s need for medical treatment and disability.
With regard to the Administrative Law Judge’s finding that there are no “objective findings” in the medical evidence, we note that the Administrative Law Judge has failed to make any reference to the “ACL Laxity” reported in September 1999, which appears to be an objective observation of the claimant’s knee that is not based on subjective criteria within the claimant’s voluntary control.
With regard to the Administrative Law Judge’s finding that it would take conjecture and speculation to delineate which incident by itself or in combination with other incidents from January through July 19, 1999 is or are causing the claimant’s complaints of pain with his right knee, we note that (1) Dr. Brown rendered what appears on its face to be a valid expert medical opinion regarding causation in the claimant’s favor on January 25, 2001 (2) the respondents did not depose Dr. Brown (3) the respondents did not object to the introduction of Dr. Brown’s medical opinion and (4) the respondents did not obtain and present into the record any alternative medical opinion on causation of their own. In addition, we note that (5) the Administrative Law Judge inexplicably failed to mention Dr. Brown’s January 25, 2001 expert medical opinion anywhere in the Administrative Law Judge’s decision regarding the causation issue presented in this case.
For the foregoing reasons, we remand this case to the Administrative Law Judge to analyze the entire record, and to make more adequate findings of fact thereafter.
For prevailing on this appeal before the Full Commission, the claimant’s attorney is hereby awarded an additional attorney’s fee in the amount of $250.00 in accordance with Ark. Code Ann. § 11-9-715
(Repl. 1996).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
______________________________ ELDON F. COFFMAN, Chairman
______________________________ MIKE WILSON, Commissioner
______________________________ SHELBY W. TURNER, Commissioner