Thomas Rotruck v. West Virginia University - BOR

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the denial of an additional permanent partial disability award to Thomas Rotruck for a compensable right shoulder injury. The court agreed that a later, intervening shoulder injury was unrelated to the workers’ compensation claim and that the pre-intervening-injury impairment evaluation was the more reliable basis for rating the compensable injury.

Holdings

1. Rotruck was not entitled to an additional permanent partial disability award because the reliable evidence showed 4% impairment, which was equal to the 4% award he had already received.
2. The Board of Review’s decision did not clearly violate a constitutional or statutory provision, result from erroneous conclusions of law, or rest on a material misstatement or mischaracterization of the evidentiary record.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Rotruck was entitled to an additional permanent partial disability award for his compensable right shoulder injury.
2. Whether the Board of Review properly relied on the pre-intervening-injury impairment evaluation and rejected the higher post-intervening-injury evaluation.

Disposition

affirmed