Divinity v. Hinds Cty. Sch. Dist.

378 So.3d 994

Leneice DIVINITY, Appellant

v.HINDS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT and Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company, Appellees

NO. 2022-WC-01282-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

01/23/2024

MISSISSIPPI WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: LENEICE DIVINITY (PRO SE)

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES: ROGER C. RIDDICK, MACKENZIE NICOLE ELLIS, Ridgeland

BEFORE WILSON, P.J., LAWRENCE AND McCARTY, JJ.

LAWRENCE, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Leneice Divinity was injured while performing her duties as a special education teacher on April 3, 2014. The initial injury report stated that the injury was to her knee, but over the course of her treatment, she began to complain of additional pain in her back and upper extremities. On June 23, 2021, an administrative judge entered an order on the case which essentially stated that Divinity was to be compensated for some of her medical issues related to the work-related injury but not for all of the injuries she claimed. The Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission affirmed that order on December 13, 2022, Divinity now appeals.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶2. Divinity was employed as a special education teacher with the Hinds County School District. On April 3, 2014, Divinity was assigned to monitor students in the school gymnasium. While doing so, she attempted to stop a fight that broke out between two students. The students fell down directly in front of her, and one began punching the other in the face. Divinity "grabbed [the student’s] fist but [was] standing over her and [the student] kept yanking." The student "yanked at [Divinity’s] right hand" and caused Divinity to "twist in an uncomfortable fashion." About an hour later "this burning started" in her leg "outside [her] knee." Divinity reported the injury to her employer that day and filled out a choice of physician form. This form only referenced an injury to her knee. She returned to work for light duty but submitted an official notice of resignation in February 2015, citing retirement as her reason. She retired in May 2015.

¶3. Divinity’s medical history involves multiple doctors, referrals, and procedures over a number of years. We attempt to summarize this complicated medical history by year.

I. 2014

¶4. Divinity’s initial injury took place on April 3, 2014. The following day, the burning she felt was accompanied by numbing and had spread down to her right foot and thigh. Divinity went to the MEA Medical Clinic (associated with St. Dominic’s) that day and reported a knee injury. The MEA performed an MRI on the knee. The MEA referred Divinity to Dr. O’Mara for the knee injury and she was able to see him on April 29, 2014. Her initial paperwork with Dr. O’Mara referenced only her right knee. She was diagnosed with "some patellar bursitis and patella femoral issues." On May 27, 2014, she returned to Dr. O’Mara. Dr. O’Mara indicated that after his physical exam, her knees appeared to be better, and her knee brace was proving to be beneficial. He continued her anti-inflammatory medication and recommended she begin physical therapy.

¶5. Divinity was treated by a physical therapist at The Therapy Center beginning on June 4, 2014. She "underwent therapeutic exercises" and a manual electrical stimulation to the knee; she was last seen on June 16, 2014, and was noted to be making "good progress" towards relieving her pain.

¶6. The MEA also referred Divinity to a neurologist, Dr. Wolfe, because the pain she was experiencing appeared to be associated with her nervous system. He saw her for the first time on June 3, 2014. Dr. Wolfe prescribed medication, Neurontin, but also referred her to a surgeon, Dr. Tullis. She returned to Dr. Wolfe on August 7, 2014, noting improvement in her right lower extremity pain but also noted numbness and tingling in her right arm. Divinity underwent an MRI and Dr. Wolfe determined she had a disc bulge at the L4 level. He continued her medication and ordered physical therapy. On October 16, 2014, Dr. Wolfe saw Divinity again. She indicated that her previous pain complaints remained and that her right hand and arm were numb. Dr. Wolfe continued her treatment.

II. 2015

¶7. Divinity’s first appointment with Dr. Tullis took place on January 27, 2015, and he determined she had a herniated disc and needed surgery. Before Dr. Tullis performed the surgery, Divinity submitted a notice of her resignation on February 10, 2015, citing the reason as "retirement" on the form. The back surgery—a lumbar laminectomy and decompression—was performed on February 12, 2015. Dr. Tullis kept Divinity from returning to work through March 30, 2015; after that date, he recommended she go back to work on light duty.

¶8. Divinity returned to Dr. Wolfe on March 9, 2015. She indicated that because she had reduced her activity, her right arm was no longer bothering her. She returned to Dr. Wolfe on May 11, 2015, and complained of right arm numbness and lower back pain. Dr. Wolfe continued her pain medication, Lyrica, and referred her to a pain management specialist.

¶9. Divinity thus began to see Dr. Williams, who specialized in pain manage- ment. Her first appointment with him took place on May 18, 2015. She complained of low back pain and right lower extremity pain. Dr. Williams diagnosed her with "chronic post[-]operative pain, chronic low back pain, chronic lumbar radiculopathy, degenerative disc disease[,] and lumbosacral syndrome." She continued with a medication for nerve pain, Neurontin, and was prescribed Tramadol for other areas of pain. She saw Dr. Williams again in June 2015, where he continued her medications and ordered a lumbar MRI. That MRI indicated that Divinity had chronic degenerative disc disease with a previous surgery with a right L4-L5, L5-S1 repair. The MRI revealed no spinal stenosis or herniated disc.

¶10. In July 2015, Dr. Williams again continued Divinity’s medications and started her on another medication, Ultram. She continued to follow up with Dr. Williams. Divinity returned to Dr. Wolfe on September 10, 2015, and was determined to be "essentially unchanged." He thus indicated that it was unlikely that she would be able to return to teaching special education.

¶11. On October 20, 2015, Divinity underwent a Functional Capacity Exam with ErgoScience. The report from this examination indicated that Divinity was "self-limiting" and justified doing so because of her reported pain levels. The report also showed "noted inconsistencies" with Divinity’s effort and performances in different areas of physical exertion. Divinity also returned to Dr. O’Mara in October and November 2015. She had not improved with her right knee pain complaints and exhibited "some lateral line joint line tenderness" in her knee. He ordered a repeat MRI for Divinity.

III. 2016

¶12. Dr. Tullis recommended a repeat MRI for Divinity and that occurred on January 11, 2016. The MRI indicated degenerative disc disease in her lumbar region but did not indicate any other changes. She returned in February complaining of pain, and Dr. Tullis recommended physical therapy. Also, in February 2016, she returned to Dr. O’Mara complaining of right knee pain. Dr. O’Mara referred her to a physical medicine doctor for further recommendation. Divinity continued to follow up with Dr. O’Mara throughout 2016 with no noted improvement.

¶13. On May 27, 2016, Divinity saw Dr. Vohra for an Employer’s Medical Evaluation. He noted that he did not believe the numbness she was experiencing in her right upper extremities was due to the work injury. Dr. Vohra indicated that Divinity was of "normal strength" and exhibited signs of chronic pain. He suggested that she improve her level of physical activity in order to improve her "physical situation." He observed that Divinity was resistant to the idea of increasing her physical activity. She saw Dr. Vohra again on July 20, 2016, where he reviewed her EMG/Nerve Conduction Study results he had ordered at their last appointment. He informed her that the injured nerve had healed and that he could not offer her any help beyond that. He referred her to a cognitive behavioral program.

¶14. On June 2, 2016, Divinity reported moderate pain relief to Dr. Williams and was continued on her prescribed medication and instructed to now follow up with him every few months. In October 2016, she returned to Dr. Tullis, complaining of worsened pain in her back, numbness in her right arm, hand, and leg, and spasms in the groin. Divinity indicated "that she was in favor of surgery" but Dr. Tullis did not believe it would be beneficial. He placed Divinity at maximum medical improvement and determined that it was not possible to make a recommendation on whether she could go back to work. Because Divinity claimed that she could not return to work, Dr. Tullis agreed "by default."

¶15. On November 17, 2016, Divinity saw Dr. Williams again. He continued her medications and added a new prescription, Movantik. At this appointment, Divinity was noted to have improved with her pain management since prior visits and was taking part in a physical therapy program.

¶16. Divinity was referred to Dr. Koestler for a psychological pain evaluation on August 10, 2016. She was overall diagnosed with depression and an adjustment disorder and began following up with Dr. Koestler over the next couple of months. Dr. Koestler noted that Divinity "was argumentative at times as she was encouraged to discuss her diagnoses with her physicians." After three follow-ups, Divinity "continue[d] to be extremely somatically preoccupied" and "focused on what seemed to be an effort to convince [Dr. Koestler] that she [was] disabled." Dr. Koestler also noted that Divinity felt "that her condition [wa]s a result of delays in [the Commission] authorizing medical services." Divinity stopped seeing Dr. Koestler following that appointment.

IV. 2017

¶17. On February 7, 2017, Divinity was given an injection by Dr. Williams. She followed up in March and noted improvement in her...