Shawn D. Burns v. Cheddar's Operations, LLC

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed and remanded a workers’ compensation decision denying Shawn D. Burns’s claim for injuries sustained when he tripped and fell while working as a dishwasher at Cheddar’s Operations, LLC. The court held that the evidence sufficiently established a personal injury received in the course of and resulting from his employment under West Virginia Code § 23-4-1(a), and found the Board of Review’s decision to be the result of an erroneous conclusion of law.

Holdings

1. A claimant establishes compensability by showing a personal injury received in the course of employment and resulting from the employment. Burns's evidence satisfied those requirements because he was found injured on the restaurant floor while performing his employment duties and was diagnosed with multiple sprains shortly thereafter.
2. The Board of Review's decision denying benefits was clearly the result of an erroneous conclusion of law.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence established that Burns sustained a personal injury in the course of and resulting from his employment under West Virginia Code § 23-4-1(a).
2. Whether the Workers' Compensation Board of Review clearly erred in concluding that Burns had not proved a compensable injury.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded