Boyd Mississippi, Inc. v. Iris Moore
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2007-WC-00422-COA
BOYD MISSISSIPPI, INC. AND CONTINENTAL
CASUALTY COMPANY
APPELLANTS
v.
IRIS MOORE
APPELLEE
DATE OF JUDGMENT:
TRIAL JUDGE:
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED:
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS:
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:
NATURE OF THE CASE:
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION:
DISPOSITION:
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
12/11/2006
HON. V. R. COTTEN
NESHOBA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
AMY K. TAYLOR
JIM DAVIS HULL
CIVIL - WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
DENIAL OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
BENEFITS REVERSED
REVERSED AND RENDERED - 01/22/2008
BEFORE LEE, P.J., IRVING AND ROBERTS, JJ.
LEE, P.J., FOR THE COURT:
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶1.
During her employment at the Silver Star Resort and Casino in Philadelphia, Mississippi,
Iris Moore was injured when a large glass door at one of the casino exits opened and struck her on
the left side of her face and head. According to Moore, she was cleaning the door when a patron
opened the door hitting her. The accident occurred on September 28, 1996. Moore suffered a cut,
a knot above her eye, and a bruise. Moore did not miss any work because of the accident and did
not experience any problems with her eye for the next six years.
¶2.
In September 2002, Moore’s one-year-old child bumped her left eye causing it to tear up.
Four to six weeks later Moore went to an optometrist who diagnosed her with a detached retina and
referred her to a specialist. She was also found to be legally blind in her left eye.
¶3.
Moore’s employment with the Silver Star Casino ended in 1999. Since then she had been
employed with another company and insured through her employer by Blue Cross Blue Shield. Blue
Cross paid for all of her medical treatment concerning her left eye including her multiple surgeries.
She did not present any of the medical bills to the Silver Star.
¶4.
Moore filed a petition to controvert in August 2004, claiming that the accident on September
28, 1996, caused the detached retina. Boyd Mississippi, Inc. and Continental Casualty Co., her
employer and workers’ compensation carrier while employed at the Silver Star, denied that she was
entitled to benefits. A hearing was held before an administrative law judge (ALJ) who agreed with
the employer/carrier that Moore’s injury was not compensable. The ALJ determined that Moore
“failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged incident of September 28, 1996,
and the retinal detachment and scarring were causally related to her employment.” Further, the ALJ
stated that she “simply did not find the claimant’s testimony to be believable.” The Mississippi
Workers’ Compensation Commission affirmed the findings of the ALJ.
¶5.
Moore appealed the Commission’s decision to the Circuit Court of Neshoba County. The
circuit court reversed the decision of the Commission finding it not to be supported by substantial
evidence. The circuit court was convinced by Dr. Joel Herring’s testimony that it was a
“conceivable possibility” that Moore’s eye injury was related to the accident at issue. In its ruling,
the circuit court stated that since doubtful cases should be resolved in favor of compensation, this
case should be resolved in favor of Moore.
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¶6.
Boyd Mississippi and Continental Casualty now appeal asserting that substantial evidence
existed to support the findings of the Commission.
¶7.
Finding that the Commission’s decision was based on substantial evidence, we reverse the
judgment of the circuit court and reinstate the decision of the Commission.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶8.
The standard for appellate review of workers’ compensation claims is limited. It is well
settled that “the Commission is the ultimate fact-finder.” Hardin’s Bakeries v. Harrell, 566 So. 2d
1261, 1264 (Miss. 1990). Our review is limited to a “determination of whether or not the decision
of the commission is supported by the substantial evidence.” McCarty Farms, Inc. v. Banks, 773
So. 2d 380, 386-87 (¶23) (Miss. Ct. App. 2000) (quoting Delta CMI v. Speck, 586 So. 2d 768,
772-73 (Miss. 1991)). “This Court will overturn a Commission decision only for an error of law or
an unsupportable finding of fact.” Cook v. President Casino, 740 So. 2d 963, 966 (¶16) (Miss. Ct.
App. 1999) (citation omitted). Matters of law are reviewed de novo. KLLM, Inc. v. Fowler, 589 So.
2d 670, 675 (Miss. 1991).
DISCUSSION
¶9.
Boyd Mississippi and Continental Casualty argue that the Commission’s decision to deny
benefits was based on substantial evidence; thus, the circuit court erred in overruling the
Commission.
¶10.
Moore went to an optometrist for routine annual examinations starting in 1998. Her first
visit with Dr. Lee Johnson was in 2000. At her annual visit in 2001, she mentioned having some
decrease in vision in both eyes, and she wanted to change her glasses. No mention was made at any
of these visits of an accident at the casino, and no accident history was provided. Moore returned
for her annual exam in 2002. In September 2002, four months after her annual visit, Moore returned
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to Dr. Johnson complaining of a decrease in vision since August 2002. Dr. Johnson discovered she
had a retinal detachment in her left eye. Dr. Johnson referred Moore to Dr. Herring, a specialist in
ophthalmology and retinal surgery. During her initial visit with Dr. Herring in September 2002,
Moore stated that her child had elbowed her in the eye, but that she was otherwise healthy and had
no previous eye problems. She did not mention the casino accident or any prior eye problems to Dr.
Herring. Dr. Herring found a detached retina in the left eye with evidence of scarring. According
to Dr. Herring, the area of detachment was sequential and had begun at the edge of the eye and
progressed over time. Dr. Herring performed a series of seven surgeries to repair the detached retina
and to remove the scar tissue that had developed thereafter.
¶11.
Both Dr. Herring and Dr. Johnson testified through depositions. Dr. Johnson testified at his
deposition in July 2005, that based on a reasonable optometric probability, the accident at the casino
was related to or caused the retinal detachment. In a letter written in April 2005, Dr. Johnson stated
that since he was not a specialist he would defer to Dr. Herring’s opinion as to whether a retinal
detachment could lie dormant for an extended period of time. In May 2005, Dr. Johnson wrote
another letter stating that retinal detachments can occur from trauma months and even years after
an accident; therefore, a correlation could be drawn between the accident at the casino and the
retinal detachment. When questioned in his deposition about why he changed his opinion, Dr.
Johnson testified that after he wrote the first letter he read a journal article while doing research that
said retinal detachment may occur weeks, months, or even years after an accident. He stated that
he felt comfortable giving that opinion based on his research. Dr. Johnson also stated that he could
not say that the detachment was not caused by some other factor.
¶12.
Dr. Herring testified through his deposition that he could not state to a reasonable degree of
medical probability that being hit in the eye with a door would be the proximate cause of retinal
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detachment and scarring. From the characteristics of the scarring, he found that the detachment had
progressed in part over a period of time and was partially acute. He testified that it was conceivable
that a detachment could have existed for four years before becoming large enough to be noticeable.
Dr. Herring also testified that it was conceivable that the scarring could have occurred over a period
of a month to six weeks – the period of time that had passed since her child elbowed her eye. He
stated that the detachment would not have been noticed at a routine visit unless the eye was dilated.
¶13.
After reviewing the testimony of Dr. Herring and Dr. Johnson, the Commission found Dr.
Herring’s testimony to be more persuasive since he was a specialist in the field of retinal surgery.
Neither doctor could state with any certainty that the accident at the casino was the underlying cause
of the retinal detachment. The findings of the ALJ, adopted by the Commission, state that “[t]he
medical proof is simply not there to establish a causal relationship between the alleged accident and
Ms. Moore’s left eye condition.” We agree with the Commission that no testimony was presented
to show within a reasonable degree of medical probability that the retinal detachment was in any
way related to the injury at the casino. We reverse the judgment of the circuit court and render
judgment reinstating the decision of the Commission in favor of Boyd Mississippi, Inc. and
Continental Casualty Co.
¶14. THE JUDGMENT OF THE NESHOBA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT IS REVERSED
AND RENDERED AND THE DECISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI WORKERS’
COMPENSATION COMMISSION IS REINSTATED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE
ASSESSED TO THE APPELLEE.
KING, C.J., MYERS, P.J., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE,
ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ., CONCUR.
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