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Adams v. Metals USA2/15/2005
nd that knife stabs me, then I start to have difficulty. So you cannot necessarily equate the weight of symptoms with the exact date of herniation . . ..
Q: Okay. If you'll assume for a moment - - can coughing and sneezing cause a herniated disk?
A: It can.
Q: Can everyday activities cause a herniated disk?
A: Yes.
Q: Have you seen cases in which you cannot point to a specific traumatic event as the cause of a herniated disk?
A: Yes, very many.
Q: Your opinion you stated regarding causation was based upon the temporal nature of the complaint and the fall?
A: Yes.
Q: His history he gave to you was that he had these pain and symptoms after he fell, correct?
A: Correct.
Q: Was it your understanding that he had it immediately after he fell?
A: Well, he said he had it minor for about two or three months and then it started to get a lot worse. That was the original history that he gave me.
Q: Okay.
A: But he did have some difficulty immediately after [the fall].
Q: I'm sorry. If you'll assume for a moment that in October - - and again just assume that the Commission finds these facts.
A: Okay.
Q: That in October of 2000 [plaintiff] slipped from a low rung of a ladder and scraped his arms; that he did not complain of any symptoms in his back, no pain or radiculopathy, continued working for three and half months in his normal job , during which he never asked to see a doctor, never told his supervisors that he was having any problems with his back; the first time he saw a doctor was in mid-January of 2001, three and half months after the fall from the low rung on the ladder, at which time he was sneezing and coughing because he was sick.
If you'll assume those facts, would you able to tell us, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that falling a couple of feet from the ladder caused the herniated disk?
A: No, I would not be able to say that with reasonable medical certainty.
Q: Okay. And I guess the opinion you gave previously was based upon the temporal nature of the pain and the fall?
A: That's correct.
Dr. Kritzer's deposition transcript on redirect reads in pertinent part:
Q: Now, Doctor, just one or two follow-up questions. Was there any indication in your treatment of [plaintiff] that sneezing or coughing or everyday activities caused his disk herniation at L5-S1?
A: No.
Q: And would it be significant as well that after October 1st, 2000, [plaintiff] complained of problems going down his leg into his feet?
A: I'm sorry, repeat that question.
Q: Excuse me. Would it be significant that after his fall on October 1st, 2000 that [plaintiff] complained of having problems going down his leg and into his feet?
A: [Dr. Kritzer]: That would be significant.
Q: Your opinion on causation is based upon the history given to you in this case, correct?
A: Correct.
The record shows that plaintiff complained of pain in his left hip and leg, and numbness and tingling in his feet - which evidence is consistent with the testimony of Dr. Kritzer that a left herniation would cause problems on the left side down into the legs. The medical records in evidence objectively verify a disk herniation, based an MRI scan as of 7 February 2001. In addition, Dr. Kritzer testified he relied on the medical records in renderinghis decision. See N.C.G.S. ยง 8C-1, Rule 703 (2003) ("The facts or data in the p
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