Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Angela Gladwell ( 1995 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Baker, Benton and Overton
TYSON FOODS, INC.
v. Record No. 2301-94-3 MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
JUDGE NELSON T. OVERTON
ANGELA GLADWELL OCTOBER 31, 1995
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS'
COMPENSATION COMMISSION
(Thomas G. Bell, Jr; Timberlake, Smith, Thomas &
Moses, on brief), for appellant.
(Roger A. Ritchie; Roger Ritchie & Partners, P.L.C.,
on brief), for appellee.
The sole issue on this appeal is whether the Workers'
Compensation Commission erred in finding that Angela Gladwell's
bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome qualifies as a compensable
occupational disease within the meaning of "disease" under the
Workers' Compensation Act ("the Act"). Upon reviewing the record
and the briefs of the parties, we conclude that this appeal is
without merit. Accordingly, we summarily affirm the commission's
decision. Rule 5A:27.
Gladwell worked for Tyson Foods on an assembly line lifting
bags of chicken into boxes and then lifting the boxes onto a set
of rollers. She performed these duties on a rotating basis from
the end of August, 1993, to the middle of October, 1993, when she
was left at that position all day every day. Gladwell developed
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
pain, numbness, and swelling in her wrists. On October 19, she
was diagnosed with acute carpal tunnel syndrome, resulting from
the repetitive work on the poultry line. The employer concedes
that credible evidence exists to support the commission's
conclusion that Gladwell's carpal tunnel syndrome was caused by
her employment. Tyson only questions whether the disorder is a
disease under the occupational disease provisions of the Virginia
Workers' Compensation Act.
We recently held in Perdue Farms, Inc. v. McCutchan, 21 Va.
App. 65, 69, 461 S.E.2d 431, 433 (1995), that the general medical
definition of carpal tunnel syndrome places it within the
definition of disease set forth in Piedmont Mfg. Co. v. East, 17
Va. App. 499, 503, 438 S.E.2d 769, 772 (1993). Similar to facts
of the Perdue case, Gladwell's condition did not present as an
obvious, sudden, mechanical or structural change in her body.
Based upon our holding in Perdue, we conclude that credible
evidence supports the commission's finding that Gladwell's carpal
tunnel syndrome is a condition characterized as a "disease"
within the meaning of the Act.
Accordingly, we affirm the commission's decision.
Affirmed.
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