Brate v. Rolls-Royce Energy Sys., Inc., 2012 Ohio 4577

Brate, plaintiff, injured knee on Oct. 7, 2007 while employed by Rolls-Royce Energy Systems, Inc.
Plaintiff received workers' compensation for right knee sprain and internal derangement.
Plaintiff sought to add right medial meniscus tear, loose chondral bodies, and substantial aggravation of pre-existing osteoarthritis; Industrial Commission denied.
Trial court granted defendant's summary-judgment motion on causation in Dec. 2011.
Appellate court reversed and remanded for further proceedings after finding genuine issues of material fact exist in expert medical testimony.
Appeal concerns whether pre-existing osteoarthritis was substantially aggravated by a work-related injury, requiring objective medical evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether substantial aggravation requires objective findings under Civ.R. 56	Brate's doctors supported substantial aggravation with objective findings	No objective findings; pre-existing OA not substantially aggravated	Genuine issues of material fact exist; summary judgment improper
Whether treating physicians' opinions sufficient to defeat summary judgment	Cush and Elder credibly opined substantial aggravation and acceleration	Objective evidence lacking; test results not shown	Yes, opinions create triable issues; judgment reversed and remanded

State ex rel. Zimmerman v. Tompkins, 75 Ohio St.3d 447 (Ohio 1996) (summary-judgment standard under Civ.R. 56C authority cited)
Parsons v. Fleming, 68 Ohio St.3d 509 (Ohio 1994) (Civ.R. 56 standards and burden of showing no genuine issues)
Temple v. Wean United, Inc., 50 Ohio St.2d 317 (Ohio 1977) (preliminary requirements for granting/denying summary judgment)
Smiddy v. The Wedding Party, Inc., 30 Ohio St.3d 35 (Ohio 1987) (appellate review standard for summary judgments identical to trial court standard)
Zimmerman v. Tompkins cited within opinion, 75 Ohio St.3d 447 (Ohio 1996) (reaffirms Civ.R. 56 standard for summary judgment)