Alire v. Harris Davis Rebar, A-16-625

Background

On Dec. 13, 2013, Kenneth Alire, an ironworker for Harris Davis Rebar, LLC (HDR), was punched by a coworker at the Wolf Creek nuclear plant; he reported headaches, dizziness, and received initial medical care and clearance for physical duties.
Alire thereafter stopped working for HDR and sought ongoing care for headaches, anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks; he was treated by primary care providers, behavioral-health clinicians, and multiple psychologists.
Diagnoses across providers varied (PTSD, acute anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, alcohol-use disorder), with Dr. Christopher Manetta ultimately diagnosing major depressive disorder and opining the work incident exacerbated Alire’s psychopathology and interfered with work attendance.
HDR’s examiner, Dr. Rex Jung, disputed PTSD diagnoses, noted preexisting mental-health/substance issues and symptom over-reporting, but agreed the work incident could have exacerbated anxiety and that completion of treatment could permit return to work.
The Workers’ Compensation Court found Alire reached MMI for physical injuries but not for psychological injury, awarded future mental-health care and temporary total disability (TTD) from the date of the accident, and HDR appealed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Alire)	Defendant's Argument (HDR)	Held
Whether Alire sustained a compensable psychological injury from the workplace assault	The work assault caused or materially exacerbated Alire’s psychiatric condition; treating psychologist’s opinion supports causation	Treating opinion lacks credibility; preexisting conditions and inconsistent testing mean the work event did not cause a compensable psychological injury	Court affirmed: credible evidence (esp. Dr. Manetta) supports that the work event exacerbated Alire’s psychopathology and produced compensable psychological injury
Whether independent intervening events broke causation (ladder fall, later mugging, family stress)	These events are additional stressors but do not sever the causal link from the work assault to ongoing psychological treatment	Subsequent violent and life events independently caused or primarily caused ongoing symptoms, cutting off employer liability	Court affirmed: HDR failed to prove by persuasive medical evidence that intervening events severed causation
Whether Alire had reached MMI for his psychological condition	Alire needed ongoing treatment and was not at MMI; thus TTD is appropriate	Alire retained the capacity to work in some capacity and was not totally disabled; insufficient proof of ongoing disability	Court affirmed: more persuasive evidence showed Alire had not reached MMI and remained temporarily totally disabled
Standard-of-review / credibility of experts	Deference to Workers’ Compensation Court’s credibility findings; treating expert persuasive	Urged appellate reconsideration of medical credibility and causation	Court applied deferential sufficiency review and declined to substitute its judgment for the compensation court’s credibility findings

Key Cases Cited

Rader v. Speer Auto, 287 Neb. 116, 841 N.W.2d 383 (Neb. 2014) (appellate review of Workers’ Compensation Court findings)
Miller v. E.M.C. Ins. Cons., 259 Neb. 433, 610 N.W.2d 398 (Neb. 2000) (sufficiency of evidence review in compensation cases)
Riggs v. Gooch Milling & Elevator Co., 173 Neb. 70, 112 N.W.2d 531 (Neb. 1961) (lighting up/acceleration of preexisting conditions is compensable)
Toombs v. Driver Mgmt. Inc., 248 Neb. 1016, 540 N.W.2d 592 (Neb. 1995) (compensation court as sole judge of witness credibility)
Leitz v. Roberts Dairy, 237 Neb. 235, 465 N.W.2d 601 (Neb. 1991) (appellate deference where medical testimony conflicts)
Zwiener v. Becton Dickinson-East, 285 Neb. 735, 829 N.W.2d 113 (Neb. 2013) (definition of temporary and total disability)
Benish Kaufmann v. Control Data, 237 Neb. 224, 465 N.W.2d 727 (Neb. 1991) (total disability as question of fact)