Wampler-Longacre etc v. Shirley Ann Biller ( 1995 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Benton, Coleman and Willis
WAMPLER-LONGACRE CHICKEN, INC.
AND
PACIFIC EMPLOYERS INSURANCE COMPANY
v. Record No. 2271-94-3 MEMORANDUM OPINION *
PER CURIAM
SHIRLEY ANN BILLER MAY 9, 1995
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS'
COMPENSATION COMMISSION
(Cathleen P. Welsh; Wharton, Aldhizer & Weaver, on
brief), for appellants.
(A. Thomas Lane, Jr., on brief), for appellee.
The sole issue raised by Wampler-Longacre Chicken, Inc. and
its insurer (hereinafter collectively referred to as "employer")
is whether the Workers' Compensation Commission erred in finding
that Shirley Ann Biller's bilateral trigger thumbs qualifies as a
compensable occupational "disease" under Code § 65.2-400. 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.
The facts are not in dispute. Biller worked for employer in
the "rehang" section of its chicken processing plant. Her duties
included grasping a chicken in each hand and putting it on
shackles that were located directly in front of her. She handled
approximately twenty-five to thirty chickens per minute, during
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
her eight-hour shift, with two one-half hour breaks.
In November 1993, Biller began treatment with Dr. Galen G.
Craun because her thumbs had locked in extension. On November
29, 1993, Dr. Craun diagnosed bilateral trigger thumbs, also
called tenosynovitis. Dr. Craun opined that it was more probable
than not that Biller's condition was directly related to her
employment. Biller underwent release surgery in December 1993.
In a February 7, 1994 letter to Biller's attorney, Dr. Craun
opined that Biller's condition is a disease.
In his May 2, 1994 de bene esse deposition, Dr. Craun
described the disease of bilateral trigger thumbs as follows:
Trigger thumb is a condition that is
inflammatory that involves the lining of the
flexor tendons, in this case, of the thumb,
although you can get this condition in any
finger, and the lining of the tendon, called
the synovin, gets inflamed, and when it does,
the tendon sheath does not properly glide in
the flexor pulley at the metacarpal flange
level. In other words, there's a swelling of
the tendon sheath. This causes
malfunctioning or glide of the flexor tendon
in the flexor pulley, and this initially
starts with pain but eventually causes
catching or triggering of the thumb.
The commission found that Biller's bilateral trigger thumbs
constituted an occupational disease. In Merillat Industries,
Inc. v. Parks, 246 Va. 429, 432, 436 S.E.2d 600, 601 (1993), the
Supreme Court of Virginia held that the Workers' Compensation Act
"requires that the condition for which compensation is sought as
an occupational disease must first qualify as a disease." This
Court defined "disease" as
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any deviation from or interruption of the
normal structure or function of any part,
organ, system (or combination thereof) of the
body that is manifested by a characteristic
set of symptoms and signs and whose etiology,
pathology, and prognosis may be known or
unknown.
Piedmont Mfg. Co. v. East, 17 Va. App. 499, 503, 438 S.E.2d 769,
772 (1993). "[T]he word 'disease' has a well-established
meaning, and . . . no significant disparity exists among the
definitions of that term promulgated by various authorities."
Commonwealth, Dep't of State Police v. Haga, 18 Va. App. 162,
165, 442 S.E.2d 424, 426 (1994).
"Upon appellate review, the findings of fact made by the
Workers' Compensation Commission will be upheld when supported by
credible evidence." Id. at 166, 442 S.E.2d at 426. Sufficient
credible evidence supports the commission's finding that Biller's
condition was compensable as an occupational disease. Dr. Craun
specifically stated that bilateral trigger thumbs was a
"disease," and his diagnosis and description of this condition
satisfies the definition of disease enunciated in Piedmont, 17
Va. App. at 503, 438 S.E.2d at 772.
Accordingly, the commission's decision is affirmed.
Affirmed.
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