The SD Supreme Court handed down one decision this morning, holding inter alia:
1) Back injury compensable
under Work Comp notwithstanding preexisting condition
Summary follows:
HUGHES v. DAKOTA MILL & GRAIN, 2021 S.D. 31: Employee, with preexisting back condition,
sought work comp compensation for back injury.
Employee’s job involved “heavy
labor” and, “During the two weeks leading up to the at-issue incident,
[employee] was removing a concrete floor in order to move pipes underground. To
complete the project, [employee] used a concrete saw, jackhammer, and a
Bobcat.” The employer and its insurer
denied the claim on the basis of the employee’s preexisting condition. At issue is whether the injury on the job is “a major contributing cause of the disability, impairment, or
need for treatment,” as specified in SDCL
62-1-1(7)(b). Dept. of Labor denied
compensation. The trial court reversed, holding
the claim was compensable. The SD
Supreme Court affirmed, in favor of the employee. As to the causation issue, the Court stated:
[¶20.] A
claimant is not required to prove that his or her work activities are at least
50% attributable to his or her condition in order to show that those activities
were a major contributing cause of the condition. A claimant also does not need
to show that there was a single cause of injury. Accordingly, a claimant is
“not required to prove that his employment was the proximate, direct, or sole
cause of his injury.” Smith v. Stan Houston Equip. Co., 2013 S.D. 65, ¶
16, 836 N.W.2d 647, 652. Further, the claimant’s work activities do not have to
be ‘“the’ major contributing cause” of the injury; they only have to be “‘a’
major contributing cause.” Peterson, 2012 S.D. 52, ¶ 21, 816 N.W.2d at
850 (citation omitted).
This decision is unanimous (5-0) with opinion authored by
Retired Chief Justice Gilbertson.
NOTE: Deliberations and/or
crafting of the Court’s the opinion in this case appears to have been unusually
protracted. The matter was submitted to
the Court on the briefs over a year ago, on April 20, 2020.
This decision may be accessed at
http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .
