Pflanz v. Pilkington LOF, 2011 Ohio 2670

Pflanz had preexisting lumbar disc displacement and facet-joint osteoarthropathy.
July 5, 2007 work injury at Pilkington allegedly substantially aggravated his preexisting back conditions.
MRI and Dr. Sullivan tied the 2007 incident to substantial aggravation of the conditions.
Industrial Commission allowed fund participation; trial court affirmed; Pilkington appeals.
Senate Bill 7 (Am.Sub.S.B. No. 7) requires substantial aggravation to be supported by objective evidence, with subjective evidence as supplement.
Court conducted de novo review of the IC decision and applied the statute to determine compensability.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standard for substantial aggravation under SB 7	Pflanz shows substantial aggravation per objective evidence	Trial court did not apply correct standard	Standard applied correctly and substantial aggravation shown
Reliability of Dr. Sullivan's testimony	Sullivan's MRI-based findings prove aggravation	Wunder's opinion creates equivocation	Court properly weighed evidence; Sullivan credible
Scope of appeal under Ward v. Kroger Co.	Appeal should cover conditions addressed in IC order	Scope limited to those conditions	Affirmed scope aligned with Ward; no error

Schell v. Globe Trucking, Inc., 48 Ohio St.3d 1 (1990) (aggravation of a preexisting condition can be compensable if substantial)
Hess v. United Ins. Co. of America, 74 Ohio App.3d 667 (1991) (equivocal testimony and objective evidence considerations)
Gower v. Conrad, 146 Ohio App.3d 200 (2001) (whether objective testing is required to prove aggravation)
Hubbard v. Canton City School Bd. of Edn., 97 Ohio St.3d 451 (2002) (statutory interpretation and evidence standards)
Ward v. Kroger Co., 106 Ohio St.3d 35 (2005) (scope of appeal under R.C. 4123.512 from IC order)
Starkey v. Builders Firstsource Ohio Valley, LLC., 187 Ohio App.3d 199 (2010) (discretionary review allowances and evidentiary standards)