Hintz v. Farmers Co-op Assn., 297 Neb. 903

On Nov. 13, 2014, Ian Hintz, a tire technician for Farmers Co-op, was thrown ~10 feet when a semitrailer tire exploded; he left work and returned the following Monday. He did not seek immediate medical care after the incident.
Hintz continued working (payroll and coworker testimony indicated full-duty work) but later tripped on stairs at home on Dec. 4, 2014 and sought medical care the next day for right hip pain.
MRI and surgery (Feb. 25, 2015) revealed a significant right hip labral tear and paralabral irregularity; surgery and ongoing treatment followed.
Three orthopedic opinions conflicted: Dr. Harris (surgeon) opined the tear was more consistent with a high-energy work injury; Dr. Gallentine said causation could be either event and deferred to Harris; Dr. Bozarth (defense reviewer) concluded the workplace injury resolved and the stair fall caused the symptomatic right hip condition.
The Workers’ Compensation Court found Hintz’s workplace injury resolved within 3 days and denied benefits; the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, but the Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and affirmed the compensation court.

Issue	Hintz (Plaintiff)	Farmers (Defendant)	Held
Causation: Did the Nov. 13 workplace accident proximately cause the hip injury requiring surgery?	The work explosion began ongoing symptoms that led to surgery; Harris’s intraoperative observations support work causation.	The work injury resolved within days; the Dec. 4 stair fall produced the symptomatic right hip injury.	Trial court’s finding that the workplace injury resolved before the stair fall was supported by competent evidence and not clearly erroneous.
Competency/weight of expert opinions: Is a record-review opinion (Bozarth) competent medical evidence?	(Implicit) Harris’s surgical observations are more probative; Bozarth’s record review is weaker.	Bozarth’s record-review opinion is competent and admissible; the trier of fact may credit it.	Bozarth’s opinion was competent; the trier of fact properly weighed conflicting expert testimony and rejected Harris’s opinion as lacking a credible foundation.

Nichols v. Fairway Bldg. Prods., 294 Neb. 657, 884 N.W.2d 124 (standard of appellate review of Workers’ Compensation Court)
Hull v. Aetna Ins. Co., 247 Neb. 713, 529 N.W.2d 783 (expert testimony required when injury’s nature is not plainly apparent)
Hynes v. Good Samaritan Hosp., 291 Neb. 757, 869 N.W.2d 78 (physician may rely on others’ examinations/tests for diagnosis)
Owen v. American Hydraulics, 258 Neb. 881, 606 N.W.2d 470 (conflicting medical testimony is for the trier of fact)
Mathes v. City of Omaha, 254 Neb. 269, 576 N.W.2d 181 (definition and scope of competent evidence)