AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• The Worker, Victor Sanchez, suffered injuries to his left knee in October 1999 and his right knee in June 2000 while working for National Distribution Company. After receiving treatment and settlements for both injuries, he began working for Keller’s Farm Store as a meat cutter, a role that required heavy lifting and prolonged standing. The Worker claimed that his knee problems worsened during this subsequent employment, leading to a total bilateral knee replacement surgery in July 2009. He sought an increase in compensation due to the alleged aggravation of his condition.

Procedural History

• Worker’s Compensation Administration, Gregory D. Griego, Worker’s Compensation Judge: Denied the Worker's complaint for an increase in compensation due to a worsening of his condition.

Parties' Submissions

• Worker-Appellant: Argued that the employment at Keller’s Farm Store caused an aggravation to his bilateral knee injury, supported by uncontradicted medical evidence from the independent medical examination (IME) physician, Dr. Juliana Garcia, which established causation.
• Employers/Insurers-Appellees: Keller’s Farm Store and Food Industry Self-Insurance Fund filed a memorandum in support of the proposed summary affirmance, challenging the Worker's claim of causation and worsening condition due to subsequent employment.

Legal Issues

• Whether the Worker established causation for a worsened condition due to his employment at Keller’s Farm Store to a reasonable degree of medical probability.
• Whether the Worker provided adequate notice of his compensable accident to his subsequent employer under NMSA 1978, § 52-1-29(A) (1990).

Disposition

• The Workers’ Compensation Judge’s denial of the Worker's complaint for an increase in compensation due to a worsening of his condition was affirmed.

Reasons

• The Court, with Judge Timothy L. Garcia authoring the opinion, and concurrence by Chief Judge Celia Foy Castillo and Judge Cynthia A. Fry, based its decision on the whole record standard of review. The Court found that the Worker failed to establish causation to a reasonable degree of medical probability, as required by NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-28. Despite initial testimony from Dr. Burney suggesting that the Worker's subsequent employment could have contributed to the worsening of his knee condition, he later clarified that he could not assert this to a reasonable degree of medical probability. Dr. Garcia's opinion, which partially relied on Dr. Burney's initial testimony, was deemed "unworthy of belief" due to its reliance on a subsequently retracted opinion. The Court concluded that the Worker's failure to establish causation rendered it unnecessary to address the issue of whether he provided adequate notice of his compensable accident to his subsequent employer.