West Virginia United Health System, Inc. v. Katelyn DeWitt

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF WEST VIRGINIA

FILED
WEST VIRGINIA UNITED HEALTH SYSTEM, INC., October 28, 2024
Employer Below, Petitioner ASHLEY N. DEEM, CHIEF DEPUTY CLERK
INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

v.) No. 24-ICA-74 (JCN: 2023000237) OF WEST VIRGINIA

KATELYN DEWITT,
Claimant Below, Respondent

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Petitioner West Virginia United Health System, Inc., (“WVUHS”) appeals the
January 30, 2024, order of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review (“Board”).
Respondent Katelyn DeWitt filed a response.1 WVUHS filed a reply. The issue on appeal
is whether the Board erred in reversing the claim administrator’s order, which rejected the
claim, and holding the claim compensable for right elbow dislocation and right radial head
fracture.

This Court has jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to West Virginia Code § 51-
11-4 (2024). After considering the parties’ arguments, the record on appeal, and the
applicable law, this Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For
these reasons, a memorandum decision affirming the Board’s order is appropriate under
Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

On June 28, 2022, while employed by WVUHS, Ms. DeWitt tripped and fell to the
ground landing on her right arm and leg. On the same day, Ms. DeWitt was seen in the
United Hospital Center Emergency Department by Ashley E. Foreman, M.D. Ms. DeWitt
reported limited range of motion since the fall and numbness in her fingertips. An x-ray of
the right elbow showed normal alignment and proximal radial fracture. An x-ray of the
right humerus revealed no acute abnormality of the right humerus, but a right elbow
dislocation, and a radial head fracture. An x-ray of the right elbow revealed posterior elbow
dislocation and questionable fracture involving the radius. An x-ray of the right forearm
revealed a radial head fracture with elbow dislocation. Ms. DeWitt underwent a reduction
of her dislocated right elbow, and it was placed in a splint.

1
WVUHS is represented by H. Dill Battle, III, Esq. Katelyn DeWitt is represented
by J. Thomas Greene, Jr., Esq., and T. Colin Greene, Esq.

1
On the day of the injury, Ms. DeWitt signed an Employees’ and Physicians’ Report
of Injury, indicating that she suffered an occupational injury to her right arm after she
tripped and fell in the laboratory where she worked; the treating physician diagnosed right
elbow dislocation and radial head fracture, and placed Ms. DeWitt on modified duty with
no lifting or movement of her right arm.

On July 5, 2022, Ms. DeWitt was seen by David Webster, PA-C, for fracture
aftercare. Ms. DeWitt reported that she fell at work on June 28, 2022, and had a right elbow
dislocation and a radial head fracture. On July 13, 2022, Ms. DeWitt followed up with PA
Webster. Ms. DeWitt underwent right elbow x-rays, revealing unchanged alignment of the
right elbow from the imaging taken on July 5, 2022. PA Webster noted that Ms. DeWitt
was progressing well. Ms. DeWitt was given an order for an elbow brace for stability and
pain control. PA Webster advised Ms. DeWitt to continue limiting any contact or
weightbearing activities with the right upper extremity.

The claim administrator issued an order dated July 20, 2022, rejecting the claim
based on a finding that Ms. DeWitt was not injured in the course of and resulting from her
employment. Ms. DeWitt protested this order and completed a second Employees’ and
Physicians’ Report of Injury dated August 9, 2022. The August report was largely the same
as the first but indicated a diagnosis of “unspecified fracture of lower end of right humerus,
subsequent encounter for fracture with routine healing.”

On August 4, 2022, Ms. DeWitt was seen by Amber Slider, MA. Ms. DeWitt
reported that she was progressing with physical therapy, but she continued to have some
swelling in the elbow and intermittent pain. MA Slider advised Ms. DeWitt to continue
with physical therapy, utilizing bracing, activity modification, anti-inflammatories, and
rest. MA Slider also stated that Ms. DeWitt should continue to limit weightbearing and
contact activities.

Ms. DeWitt was deposed on November 16, 2022. She testified that on June 28, 2022,
she was walking from the computer to the chemistry analyzer and fell, landing on her right
elbow and right knee. She further testified that when she fell, she was moving around
quickly, as required by her job. Ms. DeWitt stated that, although there were no obvious
obstacles or warning signs of wet floors, she is unsure if there was a slippery substance on
the floor at that specific time, and the housekeeper was cleaning the department at the time
of the injury. Ms. DeWitt also testified that tube caps sometimes accidentally end up on
the floor, instead of the biohazard trash, because she has to uncap each specimen before
placing them on the chemistry analyzers, and this could have also caused her fall.

On January 30, 2024, the Board reversed the claim administrator’s order, which
rejected the claim, and held the claim compensable for right elbow dislocation and right

2
radial head fracture. The Board found that Ms. DeWitt was injured in the course of and
resulting from her employment. WVUHS now appeals the Board’s order.

Our standard of review is set forth in West Virginia Code § 23-5-12a(b) (2022), in
part, as follows:

The Intermediate Court of Appeals may affirm the order or decision of the
Workers’ Compensation Board of Review or remand the case for further
proceedings. It shall reverse, vacate, or modify the order or decision of the
Workers’ Compensation Board of Review, if the substantial rights of the
petitioner or petitioners have been prejudiced because the Board of Review’s
findings are:

(1) In violation of statutory provisions;
(2) In excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the Board of Review;
(3) Made upon unlawful procedures;
(4) Affected by other error of law;
(5) Clearly wrong in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence
on the whole record; or
(6) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly
unwarranted exercise of discretion.

Syl. Pt. 2, Duff v. Kanawha Cnty. Comm’n, __W. Va. __, 905 S.E.2d 528 (2024).

WVUHS argues that because the cause of Ms. DeWitt’s fall is unknown, she did
not suffer an injury resulting from her employment. WVUHS further argues that Ms.
DeWitt was “simply walking” when she fell, thus, the injury did not result from her
employment. We disagree.

The Board noted that Ms. DeWitt testified that she was moving quickly when she
tripped and fell. The Board also noted that the author of the incident report explained that
Ms. DeWitt was moving at a fast pace while performing her job duties. Further, the Board
found no evidence that Ms. DeWitt’s knee buckled, that she was dizzy, or had balance
issues, nor anything of the like that precipitated her fall. In its order, the Board
distinguished this case from the circumstances described in Hood v. Lincare Holdings, Inc.,
249 W. Va. 108, 111, 894 S.E.2d 890, 893 (2023), in which the injured worker did not slip,
trip, or fall. The Board found that the fact that Ms. DeWitt was moving quickly to perform
her work and tripped causing her to fall and injure herself supports a finding that she was
injured in the course of and resulting from her employment.

As the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has set forth, “[t]he ‘clearly
wrong’ and the ‘arbitrary and capricious’ standards of review are deferential ones which

3
presume an agency’s actions are valid as long as the decision is supported by substantial
evidence or by a rational basis.” Syl. Pt. 3, In re Queen, 196 W. Va. 442, 473 S.E.2d 483
(1996). With this deferential standard of review in mind, we cannot conclude that the Board
was clearly wrong in finding that Ms. DeWitt sustained an injury to her right elbow in the
course of and resulting from her employment. Further, we conclude that the Board was not
clearly wrong in holding the claim compensable for right elbow dislocation and right radial
head fracture.

Accordingly, we affirm the Board’s January 30, 2024, order and, further, vacate the
stay granted by this Court on March 14, 2024.

Affirmed.

ISSUED: October 28, 2024

CONCURRED IN BY:

Chief Judge Thomas E. Scarr
Judge Charles O. Lorensen

Judge Daniel W. Greear, dissenting

4