{"id":"full_commission-H004171-2024-04-11","awcc_number":"H004171","decision_date":"2024-04-11","opinion_type":"full_commission","claimant_name":"Joshua Shelton","employer_name":"Nucor Yamato Steel Company","title":"SHELTON VS. NUCOR YAMATO STEEL COMPANY AWCC# H004171 APRIL 11, 2024","outcome":"granted","outcome_keywords":["affirmed:1","granted:11","denied:6"],"injury_keywords":["back","strain"],"pdf_url":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Shelton_Joshua_H004171_20240411.pdf","source_index_url":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-opinions/full-commission-opinions/","filename":"Shelton_Joshua_H004171_20240411.pdf","text_length":8971,"full_text":"BEFORE THE ARKANSAS WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION \n \n \nCLAIM NO.   H004171 \n \nJOSHUA SHELTON, \nEMPLOYEE \n \nCLAIMANT \nNUCOR YAMATO STEEL COMPANY,  \nEMPLOYER \n \nRESPONDENT \nARCH INSURANCE COMPANY, CARRIER/ \nSEDGWICK CLAIMS MANAGEMENT, \nINSURANCE CARRIER/TPA \nRESPONDENT \n  \n      \nOPINION FILED APRIL 11, 2024 \n \nUpon review before the FULL COMMISSION in Little Rock, Pulaski County, \nArkansas. \n \nClaimant represented by the HONORABLE ANDY L. CALDWELL, Attorney \nat Law, Little Rock, Arkansas. \n \nRespondents represented by the HONORABLE MICHAEL E. RYBURN, \nAttorney at Law, Little Rock, Arkansas. \n \n \n ORDER \n In the above-styled matter, the claimant moves the Full Commission \nto modify our opinion filed March 7, 2024.  The claimant requests that the \nFull Commission “award Claimant’s attorney an attorney’s fee for all \nindemnity benefits, including those previously paid by Respondents[.]\"  The \nFull Commission denies the claimant’s motion.     \n The parties stipulated that the claimant “sustained a compensable \ninjury to his back” on June 25, 2020.  The parties stipulated that the \nrespondents “accepted this claim as compensable and paid some benefits.”   \n\nSHELTON - H004171  2\n  \n \n \n A pre-hearing order was filed on May 10, 2023.  The claimant \ncontended, “On or about June 26, 2020, the Claimant was injured in the \ncourse and scope of his employment stepping across a gap into the roll \nline.  Claimant injured his back.  The Respondents initially accepted the \nclaim as compensable and have paid certain medical and indemnity \nbenefits until approximately January 9, 2022.  The Respondents \ncontroverted the Claimant’s entitlement to additional benefits at that time.  \nThe Claimant’s orthopedic doctor, Dr. Riley Jones, released the Claimant to \nlight duty but the Claimant’s pain management doctor, Dr. Jay McDonald \nhas not released the Claimant and he has recommended additional \ntreatment which has not been authorized.  The Claimant contends that he is \nentitled to TTD from the (sic) January 10, 2022 to a date yet to be \ndetermined; reasonable and necessary medical treatment as recommended \nby Dr. McDonald; and attorney’s fees.  All other issues are reserved.”   \n The respondents contended, “The claim was accepted as a \ntemporary aggravation of a pre-existing condition and the claimant was \ndiagnosed with a back strain.  The major cause of the condition is a prior, \nnon-work-related surgery in 2018.  The MRI after the 6-26-20 incident \nshows no new objective medical findings.  Dr. Robert Jones released the \nclaimant to full duty without restrictions on 11-10-20.  The claimant is not \n\nSHELTON - H004171  3\n  \n \n \nentitled to additional TTD and additional medical treatment is not \nreasonable or necessary or related.”   \n The parties agreed to litigate the following issues: \n1.  Whether Claimant is entitled to additional reasonably \nnecessary medical treatment previously denied by \nRespondents.   \n2.  Whether Claimant is entitled to temporary total disability \nbenefits from January 9, 2022, to a date yet to be determined. \n3.  Attorney’s fee.  All other issues are reserved.   \n \n A hearing was held on July 28, 2023.  At that time, the claimant \ncontended, among other things, that he was entitled to temporary total \ndisability benefits from January 11, 2022 to a date yet to be determined.   \n An administrative law judge filed an opinion on August 22, 2023.  \nThe administrative law judge found that the claimant “did sustain a \ncompensable back injury on June 25, 2020.”  The administrative law judge \nfound that the claimant was entitled to “additional medical treatment,” and \nthat the claimant was “entitled to additional temporary total disability \nbenefits from June 25, 2020, through a date to be determined.”  The \nrespondents appealed to the Full Commission and stated in part, “2.  The \nclaimant did not prove that he is entitled to additional TTD.”   \n The Full Commission filed an opinion on March 7, 2024.  A majority \nof the Full Commission found that the claimant proved he sustained a \ncompensable injury and that the medical treatment of record, including \nrecommendation of a spinal cord stimulator, was reasonably necessary in \n\nSHELTON - H004171  4\n  \n \n \naccordance with Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-508(a)(Repl. 2012).  The Full \nCommission found that the claimant “did not prove he was entitled to \nadditional temporary total disability benefits.”   \nII.  ADJUDICATION \n Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-715(Repl. 2012) provides, in pertinent part: \n(a)(1)(A)  Fees for legal services rendered in respect of a \nclaim shall not be valid unless approved by the Workers’ \nCompensation Commission.   \n(B)  Attorney’s fees shall be twenty-five percent (25%) of \ncompensation for indemnity benefits payable to the injured \nemployee or dependents of a deceased employee.... \n(ii)  The fees shall be allowed only on the amount of \ncompensation for indemnity benefits controverted and \nawarded.   \n(b)(1)  If the claimant prevails on appeal, the attorney for the \nclaimant shall be entitled to an additional fee at the full \ncommission and appellate court levels in addition the fees \nprovided in subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the additional fee \nto be paid equally by the employer or carrier and by the \ninjured employee or dependents of a deceased employee, as \nprovided above and set by the commission or appellate court. \n(2)  The maximum fees allowable pursuant to this subsection \nshall be the sum of five hundred dollars ($500) on appeals to \nthe full commission from a decision of the administrative law \njudge and the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) on \nappeals to the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court from a \ndecision of the commission.   \n \n In the present matter, the parties initially stipulated that the claimant \nsustained a compensable injury on June 25, 2020.  The parties stipulated \nthat the respondents “accepted this claim as compensable and paid some \nbenefits.”  A pre-hearing order was filed on May 10, 2023.  The claimant \ncontended that the respondents “paid certain medical and indemnity \n\nSHELTON - H004171  5\n  \n \n \nbenefits until approximately January 9, 2022.”  The claimant contended, \namong other things, that he was “entitled to TTD from the (sic) January 10, \n2022 to a date yet to be determined[.]”  The respondents contended, among \nother things, that the claimant was “not entitled to additional TTD[.].”  The \nparties agreed to litigate the issue, “2.  Whether Claimant is entitled to \ntemporary total disability benefits from January 9, 2022, to a date yet to be \ndetermined.”   \n An administrative law judge filed an opinion on August 22, 2023.  \nThe administrative law judge found, among other things, that the claimant \nwas “entitled to additional temporary total disability benefits from June 25, \n2020, through a date yet to be determined.”  Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-\n715(a)(2)(B)(ii)(Repl. 2012) expressly provides that attorney’s fees shall be \nallowed “only on the amount of compensation for indemnity benefits \ncontroverted and awarded [emphasis supplied].”  See Gant v. First Step, \nInc., 2023 Ark. App. 393; Harvest Foods v. Washam, 52 Ark. App. 72, 914 \nS.W.2d 776 (1996).  In the present matter, the respondents did not \ncontrovert the claimant’s entitlement to temporary total disability benefits \nbeginning June 25, 2020 et seq.  The claimant contended that the \nrespondents paid indemnity benefits “until approximately January 9, 2022.”  \nThe claimant contended that he was entitled to temporary total disability \nbenefits beginning January 10, 2022 until a date yet to be determined.  The \n\nSHELTON - H004171  6\n  \n \n \nrespondents contended that the claimant did not prove he was entitled to \nadditional temporary total disability benefits.  The Full Commission did not \naffirm the administrative law judge’s award of temporary total disability \nbenefits beginning June 25, 2020.  The Full Commission expressly found \nthat the claimant “did not prove he was entitled to additional temporary total \ndisability benefits.”   \n The Full Commission filed an opinion on March 7, 2024 and found, \namong other things, that the recommendation of a spinal cord stimulator \nwas reasonably necessary in accordance with Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-\n508(a)(Repl. 2012).  The Full Commission awarded the claimant’s attorney \na fee of five hundred dollars in accordance with Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-\n715(b)(Repl. 2012).  However, because the claimant did not prove he was \nentitled to an award of temporary total disability benefits, the claimant’s \nattorney did not prove he was entitled to fees for legal services in \naccordance with Ark. Code Ann. §11-9-715(a)(2)(B)(ii)(Repl. 2012.  The \nclaimant’s motion is therefore denied. \n IT IS SO ORDERED.  \n    ___________________________________ \n    SCOTTY DALE DOUTHIT, Chairman \n \n    ___________________________________ \n    M. SCOTT WILLHITE, Commissioner \n \n    ___________________________________ \n    MICHAEL R. MAYTON, Commissioner","preview":"BEFORE THE ARKANSAS WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION CLAIM NO. H004171 JOSHUA SHELTON, EMPLOYEE CLAIMANT NUCOR YAMATO STEEL COMPANY, EMPLOYER RESPONDENT ARCH INSURANCE COMPANY, CARRIER/ SEDGWICK CLAIMS MANAGEMENT, INSURANCE CARRIER/TPA RESPONDENT","fetched_at":"2026-05-19T22:29:45.752Z","links":{"html":"/opinions/full_commission-H004171-2024-04-11","pdf":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Shelton_Joshua_H004171_20240411.pdf","source_publisher":"https://labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-opinions/full-commission-opinions/"}}