MICHAEL KORDUCKI, Applicant
EXELON INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, Employer
ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE CO, Insurer
An administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Worker's Compensation Division of the Department of Workforce Development issued a decision in this matter. A timely petition for review was filed.
The commission has considered the petition and the positions of the parties, and it has reviewed the evidence submitted to the ALJ. Based on its review, the commission agrees with the decision of the ALJ, and it adopts the findings and order in that decision as its own.
The findings and order of the administrative law judge are affirmed. Jurisdiction is reserved for such further findings and orders as may be warranted.
Dated and mailed February 27, 2008
kordumi . wsd : 185 : 8 ND § 3.4
James T. Flynn, Chairperson
/s/ Robert Glaser, Commissioner
/s/ Ann L. Crump, Commissioner
The applicant credibly testified that when he went to see Dr. Minikel on April 8, 2002, it was because his bilateral wrist symptoms were making it ". . . difficult to hold on to tools, working with small parts and nuts and bolts with numb fingers, it's difficult." He further testified that he wanted to keep working but he needed some relief from the symptoms. On April 8, 2002, Dr. Minikel documented the applicant's complaints of bilateral hand numbness and tingling. He also documented positive results bilaterally for Phalen's test and Tinel's test, both tests for carpal tunnel syndrome. Dr. Minikel additionally noted that the applicant had been treated previously by Dr. Rydlewicz for carpal tunnel syndrome. Dr. Minikel administered a steroid injection into the left wrist, and recommended follow-up care. On May 15, 2002, Dr. Minikel saw the applicant again for his "bilateral carpal tunnel symptoms, which are obviously work related."
The applicant's credible testimony, together with unambiguous medical evidence, lead unmistakably to the inference that the applicant's work-related, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome reached the point of interfering with his physical ability to work on April 8, 2002. This was the reason he sought treatment from Dr. Minikel on that date. His carpal tunnel syndrome had ripened into an occupational disease and had become incapacitating when he missed work to treat with Dr. Minikel on April 8, 2002. This was the date of injury for his work-related bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.(1)
Respondents Wenninger Company and Zurich American Insurance alternatively argued that pursuant to the holding of a Wisconsin Supreme Court Case,(2) the applicant underwent a "recovery" from his bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome by returning to work, and due to this subsequent work exposure experienced a worsening or a new onset of the carpal tunnel syndrome that was the cause of the surgeries performed on March 25, 2004 and April 30, 2004. However, the medical evidence reveals that the applicant's bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome was a fully-developed occupational disease as of April 8, 2002. Dr. Minikel specifically noted in his clinic note of May 15, 2002, that the applicant was a surgical candidate. This is consistent with Dr. Karr's credible opinion that the work exposure at Mared Mechanical Contractors was not causative of the bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Dr. Aschliman opined: "Ongoing work activities for Meran Sheet Metal also likely were factors in the progression and persistence of carpal tunnel symptoms warranting surgical intervention." Assuming Dr. Aschliman was referring to the applicant's work exposure at Mared Mechanical Contractors, his opinion that such exposure was "likely" a factor in the progression of the occupational disease is rejected as not credible.
cc:
Attorney Gordon R. Leech
Attorney Stanley Lowe
Attorney Thomas J. Niemiec
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