W.C. No. 4-322-367Industrial Claim Appeals Office.
August 20, 1997
FINAL ORDER
The pro se claimant seeks review of an order of Administrative Law Judge Friend (ALJ) which denied and dismissed his claim for workers’ compensation benefits. We affirm.
The claimant alleged that he suffered a compensable injury on November 8, 1996, when he was kicked in the rectal area during the course of his employment. The claimant contends that the incident exacerbated his pre-existing hemorrhoids, and thereafter, required surgical treatment. The respondent denied liability.
The ALJ found that the claimant first sought treatment on December 20, 1996 at Health One, where he was examined by Dr. Childers who diagnosed a “hernia.” The claimant was subsequently referred to Dr. Khoo for further treatment. The ALJ found that Dr. Khoo diagnosed the claimant as suffering from an “anal fissure,” and thereafter, Dr. Khoo performed a fissurectomy. In a letter dated April 3, 1997, Dr. Khoo opined that the claimant’s condition “did not arise from his being kicked in the buttocks in November 1996.” Dr. Khoo also expressed “doubt that the kick caused any additional trauma” necessitating the fissurectomy.
Crediting the opinions of Dr. Khoo, the ALJ found that the claimant failed to sustain his burden to prove that his medical treatment was necessitated by the November 8 injury. Therefore, the ALJ denied the claimant’s request for medical benefits and dismissed the claim.
On appeal, the claimant renews his argument the surgery was necessitated by the compensable exacerbation of his pre-existing hemorrhoids. In support, he cites Dr. Rein’s report that the claimant underwent a sigmoidoscopy which confirmed the presence of hemorrhoids. The claimant also contends that Dr. Childers’ report mistakenly described the November 8 incident as a “groin injury,” and the claimant seeks an opportunity to retain an attorney and present evidence to demonstrate the error.
Section 8-43-301(8), C.R.S. (1996 Cum. Supp.), precludes us from disturbing the ALJ’s order unless the findings of fact are insufficient to permit appellate review, conflicts in the evidence are not resolved, the findings of fact are not supported by substantial evidence in the record, the findings of fact do not support the order, or the order is contrary to the law. Furthermore, application of the substantial evidence test requires us to defer to the ALJ’s credibility determinations and resolution of conflicts in the medical evidence. Rockwell International v. Turnbull, 802 P.2d 1182 (Colo.App. 1990).
There is substantial evidence in Dr. Khoo’s report dated April 3, 1997, to support the ALJ’s findings of fact, and the findings support the ALJ’s denial of benefits. Section 8-41-301(1)(c), C.R.S. (1996 Cum. Supp.). Furthermore, the ALJ implicitly resolved the conflict between Dr. Khoo and Dr. Rein by crediting Dr. Khoo’s opinion that the claimant’s need for surgery was due to an anal fissure, not hemorrhoids. Therefore, Dr. Rein’s diagnosis of hemorrhoids is immaterial on review. See Dow Chemical Co. v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 843 P.2d 122 (Colo.App. 1992) (ALJ may credit one medical opinion to the exclusion of a contrary medical opinion).
We also note that, although Dr. Childers’ medical report of December 20, 1996, refers to the November 8 incident as a “groin injury,” the report includes the claimant’s complaints of “hemorrhoids” and “pain in the anal area.” Nevertheless, the ALJ was not persuaded that the November 8 incident resulted in a “groin injury,” hernia or the compensable aggravation of hemorrhoids. Thus, insofar as Dr. Childers’ mistakenly reported a “groin injury,” that error does not implicate the ALJ’s order.
Moreover, we have no authority to grant the claimant’s request for another hearing. See Frank v. Industrial Commission, 96 Colo. 364, 43 P.2d 158 (1935) (parties are expected to present all of their evidence at the appointed hearing). Consequently, the claimant has failed to establish grounds which afford us a basis to grant appellate relief.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the ALJ’s order dated April 29, 1997, is affirmed.
INDUSTRIAL CLAIM APPEALS PANEL
______________________________ David Cain
______________________________ Kathy E. Dean
NOTICE
This Order is final unless an action to modify or vacatethis Order is commenced in the Colorado Court of Appeals, 2 East14th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203, by filing a petition for 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 this Order is mailed, pursuant tosection 8-43-301(10) and 307, C.R.S. (1996 Cum. Supp.).
Copies of this decision were mailed August 20, 1997 to the following parties:
Reginal Wytch, 14467 E. 1st Dr., #A-4, Aurora, CO 80011
Sue Leidolph, City of Aurora, Lost Time Control, 1776 S. Jackson St., Ste. 306, Denver, CO 80210-3803
City of Aurora, 1470 S. Havana St., Ste. 302, Aurora, CO 80012-4014
Ann McEntire, Esq., 1470 S. Havana, Ste. 302, Aurora, CO 80012 (For the Respondent)
By: _______________________________