Jim Walter Homes v. Beard

I dissent. This case should be reversed because the Commission’s opinion is premised on facts not in evidence and is not supported by substantial evidence.

The appellant was already suffering from a nonwork-related, preexisting degenerative disc disease when he sustained a compen-sable back injury in 1983.1 He is permanently and totally disabled as a result of his compensable injury, but he has not been hospitalized for any back problems since 1993. Appellant is now sixty-four years old.

The current appeal involves a claim for additional medical benefits in the form of an IDET procedure to…