Liberty Excavation, LLC v. William Cornell

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed a decision authorizing workers’ compensation coverage for the extraction of all upper and lower teeth and placement of ten dental implants following the claimant’s work-related mandibular fracture. The court held that the requested treatment was reasonable and necessary for the compensable injury despite evidence of preexisting dental conditions.

Holdings

1. The evidence supported the conclusion that extraction of all teeth in the upper and lower arches and placement of ten implants for eighteen months constituted reasonable and necessary medical treatment for Cornell’s compensable injury.
2. The Board of Review’s decision was not constitutionally or statutorily infirm, did not rest on erroneous conclusions of law, and was not clearly wrong in light of the evidentiary record; therefore, it was affirmed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the requested extraction of all teeth in the upper and lower arches and placement of ten implants for eighteen months constituted reasonable and necessary medical treatment for Cornell’s compensable mandibular injury.
2. Whether the Board of Review’s decision was clearly wrong, legally erroneous, or otherwise unsupported under the applicable workers’ compensation standard of review.

Disposition

affirmed