Christopher L. Sizemore v. L & G Trucking, Inc.

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed a decision awarding Christopher L. Sizemore 4% permanent partial disability for psychiatric impairment arising from a compensable workplace injury. The court held that the Board of Review’s decision was not clearly erroneous or legally improper and adopted the reasoning that the 4% evaluation was the only persuasive medical assessment.

Holdings

1. The Board of Review’s decision affirming a 4% permanent partial disability award for psychiatric impairment was not in clear violation of a constitutional or statutory provision, was not clearly the result of erroneous conclusions of law, and was not based on a material misstatement or mischaracterization of the evidentiary record.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Office of Judges improperly relied on Sizemore’s Global Assessment of Functioning score in evaluating his psychiatric impairment.
2. Whether the Office of Judges erred in finding Dr. Faheem’s 4% impairment recommendation more persuasive than the 10% and 6% recommendations of Dr. Riaz and Dr. Hasan.
3. Whether the Board of Review’s affirmance of the 4% permanent partial disability award was clearly erroneous under the applicable appellate standard.

Disposition

affirmed