Petersen v. Labor Commission, 2016 UT App 222

In December 2011 Tonya Petersen, an employee of Utah State University, strained her neck and right upper extremity after moving heavy tables at work; she later developed numbness and weakness in her right arm.
Imaging showed preexisting moderate–severe degenerative cervical disease with disc bulges and nerve impingement; treating physicians recommended and Petersen underwent two cervical spine surgeries in August and December 2012.
WCF (Workers Compensation Fund) denied coverage for neck-related benefits, concluding the injuries were attributable to preexisting degenerative disease rather than the December 2011 industrial accident.
Multiple independent WCF medical examiners and a three-physician ALJ-appointed medical panel concluded the accident at most caused a temporary cervical strain and primarily caused a right lower brachial plexus stretch; they opined the cervical surgeries were not medically necessary to treat the work injury.
The ALJ initially awarded the surgical costs, relying on precedent that treatment deemed necessary by treating physicians based on available information may be compensable; the Labor Commission reversed, finding the panel’s impartial opinion established the surgeries were not necessary to treat the industrial injury.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether cervical surgeries are compensable as treatment for the Dec. 2011 industrial accident	Petersen: because the accident caused neck injury and she later needed surgery, the surgeries are compensable as continuing medical care	Utah State Univ./WCF: medical evidence shows surgeries treated preexisting degenerative disease, not a work-caused condition, so not compensable	The Commission did not err: surgeries were not medically caused by the accident and thus not compensable
Whether a temporary aggravation of a preexisting condition gives rise to lifetime compensable treatment	Petersen: causation continues; temporary injury still anchors lifetime medical care	Defendants: Utah law requires a medical causal link between the accident and the condition treated; temporary aggravation that resolved does not justify later unrelated surgery	Held against Petersen: temporary aggravation ended before surgeries; later surgeries treated preexisting disease and are not covered

Allen v. Industrial Comm’n, 729 P.2d 15 (Utah 1986) (adopts two-part test: legal cause and medical cause for compensable work injury)
Murray v. Labor Comm’n, 308 P.3d 461 (Utah 2013) (standards for review of agency mixed questions of law and fact)