Merillat Industries, Inc. v. Parks

In this appeal we consider whether a torn rotator cuff muscle sustained by a worker because of repetitive motions in his assigned job is compensable under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, Title 65.1 (now 65.2) (the Act), as an occupational disease.

Carter McKinnon Parks was employed by Merillat Industries, Inc. to remove paint booth hangers from a rotating overhead conveyor. In 1989 Parks filed a claim with the Industrial Commission, now the Workers’ Compensation Commission, to recover workers’ compensation benefits for a tear to the rotator cuff muscle of his left arm. This tear…