Willardson v. Industrial Com'n of Utah

HOWE, Justice:

We granted certiorari to review a decision of the court of appeals affirming an order, of the Industrial Commission refusing to convene a medical panel to evaluate the impairment of petitioner Kerry L. Willardson. Willardson v. Industrial Comm’n, 856 P.2d 371 (Utah Ct.App.1993). He had filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits for a back injury he allegedly suffered while working as a conveyor belt supervisor for Beaver Creek Coal Company in April 1988.

Willardson’s medical records reveal a history of back problems dating from 1970. He underwent a lumbar laminectomy in…