Rechenberg v. Ill. Workers' Comp. Comm'n

2018 IL App (2d) 170263 WC

99 N.E.3d 521

Debra M. RECHENBERG, Appellee,

v.The ILLINOIS WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION, et al.

(Centegra Memorial Medical Center, Appellant).

No. 2–17–0263 WC

Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District, Workers' Compensation Commission Division.

Opinion filed March 8, 2018

Robert E. Maciorowski and Joseph R. Klein, of Maciorowski, Sackmann & Ulrich, LLP, of Chicago, for appellant.

David N. Rechenberg, of Franks & Rechenberg, P.C., of Lake in the Hills, for appellee.

JUSTICE HARRIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 On February 27, 2014, claimant, Debra M. Rechenberg, filed an application for adjustment of claim pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act (Act) ( 820 ILCS 305/1 to 30 (West 2012) ), seeking benefits from the employer, Centegra Memorial Medical Center. Following a hearing, the arbitrator determined claimant sustained an injury to her right shoulder that arose out of and in the course of her employment and awarded her (1) 34³/₇ weeks' temporary total disability (TTD) benefits and (2) $57,865.25 in medical expenses. On review, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission) reversed the arbi trator's decision, finding claimant "failed to prove she sustained an accident arising out of and in the course of her employment * * * or that her current condition of ill-being [was] casually related to her employment." On judicial review, the circuit court of McHenry County reversed the Commission's decision, finding it was against the manifest weight of the evidence. It ordered that the arbitrator's decision be reinstated. The employer appeals, arguing the Commission's determination that claimant failed to prove a compensable, work-related injury was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. We reverse the circuit court's judgment and reinstate the Commission's decision.

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 On January 27, 2015, the arbitration hearing was conducted. Claimant testified she was a registered nurse and had worked as a nurse for over 25 years. For approximately 10 of those years, she worked for the employer. In February 2006, claimant was hired by the employer on a part-time basis. She testified she was a floor nurse on a medical/surgical unit that dealt with "a lot of abdominal surgeries." Claimant cared for individuals undergoing gastric bypass surgery, diabetic patients, and patients going through detox. She described her job as being very physical and requiring her to "do a lot of movement" of patients. As a part-time employee, claimant worked two to three days per week. She typically worked 8–hour shifts but was asked to work 12–hour shifts on occasion.

¶ 4 Claimant alleged she suffered a work-related injury to her right shoulder on January 18, 2014. However, she also acknowledged that, in December 2013, approximately one month before her alleged work injury, she was involved in an accident at home that affected her right shoulder. Claimant described that accident as follows: "I was walking down the basement stairs and I misstepped one step and landed straight down on my butt. And my feet were on the floor of the ground and I bumped my right shoulder." Claimant denied falling down the entire flight of stairs but acknowledged feeling pain in her buttocks and soreness in her shoulder as a result of the incident.

¶ 5 Claimant described feeling "a little twinge" in her right arm or shoulder at the time she fell, as well as pain on the side of her right arm and "generalized achiness" in her right shoulder. She did not immediately seek medical care for her symptoms, but she did schedule a doctor's appointment at the encouragement of her son, a physical therapist. Claimant stated, in the meantime, she continued working for the employer as a floor nurse with no problems or work restrictions. On cross-examination, claimant testified her fall at home occurred on approximately December 18, 2013. Further, she agreed to working on three specific dates after her December 2013 fall at home and prior to her January 18, 2014, alleged work accident. Specifically, she testified she worked on December 22, 2013, from 6:55 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; for eight hours on December 25, 2013; and for eight hours on December 28, 2013. Claimant's testimony also indicated there were additional days when she was scheduled to work but there was a "low census" and she was "put on call." During those times, claimant would get paid "to sit at home and wait for a call."

¶ 6 At arbitration, the employer submitted a "wage statement" for claimant into evidence. The wage statement showed that from December 8, 2013, to December 21, 2013, claimant was paid by the employer for a total of 40.75 hours. From December 22, 2013, to January 4, 2014, she was paid for a total of 43.5 hours.

¶ 7 On January 18, 2014, claimant worked a 12–hour shift for the employer, which began at 7 a.m. She estimated she was assigned five or six patients, whom she assisted by positioning and repositioning them in bed and helping them to the toilet. Claimant recalled caring for one patient in particular who was obese and weighed approximately 250 pounds. Several times during the day, she was required to reposition that patient in bed. Claimant stated "the morning was not a problem"; however, when adjusting the patient in bed in the afternoon, claimant felt "a deep stabbing, like pinpointing type of pain" in her right shoulder. She further described that incident as follows:

"[The patient] wanted me to boost her or adjust her one more time, and it was just the one motion, and I just felt like—like an ‘oh my, shit,’ or like ‘oh, my gosh, what did I do to my—what did I do to my arm?’ It was like, ‘Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.’ "

Claimant denied feeling that same type of pain earlier in the day or previously having any trouble readjusting any of her patients.

¶ 8 Claimant stated she finished her shift "in tears" and felt pain as she continued to lift her patients. She described the pain as constant and "always there" but stated it was not as sharp or intense as it had been and that it was different from "that first ‘Oh, my gosh,’ pain." Claimant testified she reported her injury to both the charge nurse and her supervisor.

¶ 9 According to claimant, she also worked the next day, January 19, 2014, and continued to have constant soreness in her arm. She stated she tried to "call in sick" but did end up working. Claimant asserted she was in "constant pain" while working and her arm "throbbed with any activity." She also testified that she filled out an injury report form on January 19, 2014, at the request of her supervisor, Karen Orlando. She identified a copy of that form, which was submitted at arbitration. Claimant testified the top half of the form was in her own handwriting. On the form, she described an injury to her right shoulder/biceps muscle that occurred "mid afternoon" on Saturday, January 18, 2014. Further, she reported the injury occurred due to "repeativly [sic ]/frequently repositioning pt in bed." At arbitration, claimant agreed the injury report made no mention of experiencing an "oh wow" or "oh boy" moment. After working on January 19, 2014, claimant did not believe she could safely perform her job duties because she did not feel safe moving patients. She reiterated that she did not have any trouble or difficulty caring for patients prior to January 18, 2014.

¶ 10 Following her alleged work accident, claimant first sought medical treatment on January 20, 2014, with the office of Dr. Rolando Izquierdo, an orthopedic surgeon. Claimant acknowledged her appointment with that office had been scheduled prior to her alleged work accident. Specifically, she acknowledged that on January 15, 2014, she called Dr. Izquierdo's office to schedule an appointment because her shoulder was "sore on and off, like a muscle soreness, like when you work-out."

¶ 11 At the appointment, claimant saw Alicia Heuser, Dr. Izquierdo's physician's assistant. Claimant's medical records reflect she complained of right shoulder pain that had been present since December 2013 when she "fell down the stairs in her home." Claimant reported the pain had been "significantly worse" since working as a registered nurse for the employer. She stated her pain was at the top of her shoulder and described her pain as dull and occasionally stabbing. Heuser noted that claimant reported that the pain oc curred "at all times" and made it difficult for her to sleep at night. Her symptoms were reportedly "worse with brushing teeth and reaching behind." Additionally, Heuser noted as follows:

"Work Injury:

Employer: Centegra Woodstock. [Claimant] noted the injury was witnessed by a tech repetitive all day long with the same patient. [Claimant] did seek medical care with Dr. Izquierdo. Date and time of injury: [January 18, 2014,] repetitive all day long. * * * What were you doing when the accident occurred: repetitively moving a patient all day long with the assistance of a tech. How did the accident occur: repetitively boosting a patient in bed with the assistance of a tech."

¶ 12 Following an examination and X-rays, Heuser assessed claimant as having a "[d]isorder of bursae and tendons in [her] shoulder region." She also recommended a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of claimant's right shoulder "due to the traumatic nature of the initial injury." Finally, claimant was given work restrictions of no overhead lifting and no lifting more than two pounds with her right arm.

¶ 13 On January 23, 2014, claimant underwent the right shoulder MRI. The MRI report set forth the following findings:

"1. There are small full-thickness tears of the supraspinatus tendon.

2. There is severe tendinopathy of the infraspinatus tendon.

3. Small shoulder joint effusion and subacromial/subdeltoid bursal effusion.

4. Moderate osteoarthritis of the acromioclavicular joint."

¶ 14 On February 3, 2014, claimant saw Dr. Izquierdo for the first time. His medical records reflect claimant complained of right...