State ex rel. ABF Freight System, Inc. v. Industrial Commission

Summary

The Ohio Supreme Court reviewed an Industrial Commission award of workers’ compensation benefits for total loss of use of a thumb following surgical fusion. The court held that R.C. 4123.57(B) requires evidence of ankylosis, meaning total stiffness, and that the medical evidence showed some remaining movement rather than total stiffness. The court affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment vacating the award.

Holdings

1. The Industrial Commission's award for total loss of use was unsupported by some evidence because none of the medical reports established the statutory prerequisite of ankylosis.

Questions Presented

1. Whether some evidence supported the Industrial Commission's award of compensation for total loss of use under R.C. 4123.57(B).
2. Whether the medical evidence established ankylosis, defined by the statute as total stiffness, as a prerequisite to compensation for loss of use.

Disposition

affirmed