W.C. No. 4-334-773Industrial Claim Appeals Office.
August 12, 1998
FINAL ORDER
The pro se claimant seeks review of a final order of Administrative Law Judge Henk (ALJ), which denied benefits on the grounds the claimant failed to prove a compensable injury. We affirm.
The claimant alleged that she sustained a compensable back injury on January 15, 1997, when she slipped and fell at work. However, the ALJ found that the claimant’s testimony was not credible and was contradicted by the medical evidence and testimony of other witnesses. Consequently, the ALJ concluded that the claimant failed to prove a compensable injury arising out of and in the course of her employment.
The claimant has not submitted a brief, and the only specific error alleged in the petition to review is that the ALJ erroneously denied the claim. Moreover, the claimant failed timely to procure a transcript of the hearing.
The question of whether the claimant proved that her back condition was causally related to a fall at work was one of fact for determination by the ALJ. City of Durango v. Dunagan, 939 P.2d 496 (Colo.App. 1997). Consequently, we must uphold the ALJ’s order if supported by substantial evidence. Section 8-43-301(8), C.R.S. 1997.
Because the claimant failed to procure a transcript, we must assume that the ALJ’s findings are supported by the evidence Nova v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 754 P.2d 800 (Colo.App. 1988). In any event, we are in no position to substitute our judgment for that of the ALJ concerning the credibility of the witnesses and her resolution of conflicts in the evidence. Metro Moving Storage v. Gussert, 914 P.2d 411 (Colo.App. 1995). Thus, the ALJ’s order must be upheld.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the ALJ’s order dated August 27, 1997, is affirmed.
INDUSTRIAL CLAIM APPEALS PANEL
______________________________ David Cain
______________________________ Robert M. Socolofsky
NOTICE This Order is final unless an action to modify or vacate theOrder is commenced in the Colorado Court of Appeals, 2 East 14thAvenue, Denver, Colorado 80203, by filing a petition to reviewwith the court, with service of a copy of the petition upon theIndustrial Claim Appeals Office and all other parties, withintwenty (20) days after the date the Order was mailed, pursuant to§§ 8-43-301(10) and 307, C.R.S. 1997.
Copies of this decision were mailed August 12, 1998 to the following parties:
Frances D. Vasquez, 713 North 13th, Rocky Ford, CO 81067
Gerald Masias, Council of Preventative Supportive Services for the Aging, Inc., 503 N. 9th St., Rocky Ford, CO 81067-1219
Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority, Attn: Legal Dept. (Interagency Mail)
Thomas M. Stern, Esq., 1700 Broadway, Ste. 1700, Denver, CO 80290-1701 (For the Respondents)
By: _______________________