W.C. No. 4-506-772.Industrial Claim Appeals Office.
October 24, 2005.
FINAL ORDER
The claimant seeks review of an order dated April 28, 2005 of Administrative Law Judge Klein (ALJ) that denied and dismissed his claim for benefits. We affirm.
The ALJ’s pertinent findings of fact are as follows. The claimant alleges that on December 6, 2000, as he was unloading a pallet, he twisted to the right and felt a pop in his left hip. The claimant did not report the alleged injury until March 31, 2001.
The claimant was evaluated and treated by a number of physicians. The claimant gave various histories of the development of his leg pain. He reported to one physician that he strained something doing his routine workout; to another physician he reported his leg pain had existed for several months prior to the claimed accident. To a third physician, the claimant reported playing football and noticing discomfort in his hip. The claimant denied having ever given these histories to the various physicians.
The ALJ further found that one physician credibly and persuasively opined that the claimant had end stage osteoarthritis of his hip, and his “tweak” at work was merely a symptom of his already preexisting conditions. Similarly, another physician stated that the need for the total hip replacement was neither caused nor accelerated by the alleged December 6, 2000 event.
The ALJ found the claimant was not credible or persuasive. The ALJ determined that the claimant did not sustain a compensable injury to his left hip on December 6, 2000 while in the course and scope of his employment with the employer.
The petition to review filed by the claimant contains general allegations of error under § 8-43-301, C.R.S. 2005. The claimant did not file a brief in support of the petition to review the order. See Rule of Procedure VII(D)(2)(c), 7 Code Colo. Reg. 1101-3 at 19. Therefore, the effectiveness of our review is limited. See Ortiz v. Industrial Commission, 734 P.2d 642 (Colo.App. 1986). We are not required to search for citations and authorities which might support the claimant’s vague legal position. See Raygor v. Board of County Commissioners, 21 P.3d 432, 439 (Colo.App. 2000). Further, because the claimant has not provided a transcript of the hearing on March 31, 2005, we are required to presume the ALJ’s findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence in the record. Nova v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 754 P.2d 800 (Colo.App. 1988).
The claimant has the burden to prove by a preponderance of evidence that his injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment. Section 8-43-201, C.R.S. 2005; City of Boulder v. Streeb, 706 P.2d 786
(Colo. 1985). It is the ALJ’s sole prerogative to assess the credibility of the witnesses and the probative value of the evidence to determine whether the claimant has met his burden of proof. Monfort Inc. v. Rangel, 867 P.2d 122 (Colo.App. 1993). We must uphold the ALJ’s order if supported by substantial evidence in the record. Section 8-43-301(8), C.R.S. 2005. Where the evidence is subject to conflicting inferences, we may not interfere with the ALJ’s determination of the inferences to be drawn. Gelco Courier v. Industrial Commission, 702 P.2d 295 (Colo.App. 1985).
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, at least in part, upon his credibility determinations. See Riddle v. Ampex Corp., 839 P.2d 489 (Colo.App. 1992). Further, the ALJ’s findings support the pertinent conclusions of law as well as the order denying and dismissing the claimant’s claim for benefits. Therefore, we conclude that the claimant has failed to establish any reversible error in the ALJ’s order.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the ALJ’s order dated April 28, 2005, is affirmed.
INDUSTRIAL CLAIM APPEALS PANEL
Matt Romero, Greeley, CO, K-Mart Corporation, Greeley, CO, Landon Wallis, Sedgwick CMS, Greenwood Village, CO. Britton Morrell, Esq., Greeley, CO, (For Claimant).
Eric J. Pollart, Esq., Greenwood Village, CO, (For Respondent).