W.C. No. 4-390-911Industrial Claim Appeals Office.
March 22, 2000
FINAL ORDER
The claimant seeks review of an order of Administrative Law Judge Rumler (ALJ) which determined the claimant failed to prove a compensable injury, and therefore, the ALJ denied and dismissed the claim for workers’ compensation benefits. We affirm.
The claimant alleged an injury on April 30, 1998, during a break from her work as a telephone solicitor. The claimant testified she hurt her back when the chair she was sitting on collapsed. The claimant testified that she did not seek treatment until May 5, 1998, because, initially, her back pain was no different than before the incident, and she did not think she was hurt. However, she sought treatment on May 5, 1998, with complaints of numbness on the left anterior thigh. She subsequently underwent back surgery.
On conflicting evidence, the ALJ found the claimant failed to prove she suffered a compensable injury on April 30. In support, the ALJ found that the claimant has a long history of persistent, recurrent low back pain, the claimant suffered a prior industrial back injury, and the claimant has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. The ALJ also found that when the claimant requested time off work for the surgery, she did not mention the April 30 incident and did not report the April 30 injury until July 1998. Further, the ALJ found the claimant continued to perform her regular job until May 4, 1998, and that records from the Denver Health center indicated the claimant did not report a work-related injury when she sought treatment on May 5, 1998.
Moreover, the ALJ credited the testimony of the employers’ witnesses, Peter Rinaldi and Andre Griffith, who denied the claimant’s testimony that they witnessed the April 30 incident and that the claimant immediately reported the injury. In the absence of corroborating evidence, the ALJ was not persuaded the April 30 incident, if it occurred, was the proximate cause of the claimant’s subsequent back problems and the need for the surgery. Therefore, the ALJ denied the claim. The claimant timely appealed.
On review the claimant makes general allegations of error See § 8-43-301(8), C.R.S. 1999. The claimant also contends the ALJ erroneously failed to find a compensable injury. The claimant did not file a brief in support of the petition to review. Consequently, the effectiveness of our review is limited.
We have reviewed the record and the ALJ’s findings of fact. The ALJ’s findings are sufficient to permit appellate review, and the findings indicate that the ALJ resolved conflicts in the evidence based upon her credibility determinations. See Riddle v. Ampex Corp., 839 P.2d 489 (Colo.App. 1992). The ALJ’s findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence in the record, and therefore, they must be upheld. § 8-43-301(8); Dover Elevator Co. v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 961 P.2d 1141
(Colo.App. 1998). Further, the findings support the order, and the order is consistent with the applicable law. See §8-41-301(1)(c), C.R.S. 199 ; Snyder v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 942 P.2d 1337 (Colo.App. 1997) (claimant has burden to prove causal relationship between injury and need for medical treatment; and whether claimant sustained burden is question of fact for ALJ).
We may not substitute our judgment for that of the ALJ concerning the sufficiency and probative weight of the evidence See Delta Drywall v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 868 P.2d 1155 (Colo.App. 1993). Therefore, we perceive no basis to interfere with the ALJ’s order.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the ALJ’s order dated November 2, 1999, is affirmed.
INDUSTRIAL CLAIM APPEALS PANEL ____________________________________ David Cain ____________________________________ Kathy E. Dean
NOTICE
This Order is final unless an action to modify or vacate this Order is commenced in the Colorado Court of Appeals, 2 East 14th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203, by filing a petition for review with the Court, within twenty (20) days after the date this Order is mailed, pursuant to § 8-43-301(10) and § 8-43-307, C.R.S. 1999. The appealing party must serve a copy of the petition upon all other parties, including the Industrial Claim Appeals Office, which may be served by mail at 1515 Arapahoe, Tower 3, Suite 350, Denver, CO 80202.
Copies of this decision were mailed March 22, 2000
to the following parties:
Eve J. Brooks, 44 ~ Fox St., Denver, CO 80223
Penn Schoen Assoc./PSA Interviewing Denver, Inc., 518 17th St., #800, Denver, CO 80202-4130
Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co., 1 Embarcadero Center, #900, San Francisco, CA 94111-3628
Kenna Hardenbrook, OHMS, P. O. Box 173682, Denver, CO 80217-3682
Shelley P. Dodge, Esq., 1763 Franklin St., Denver, CO 80218 (For Claimant)
Thomas O. McBride, Esq., 1410 Grant St., #C206, Denver, CO 80203 (For Respondents)
BY: A. Pendroy