UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES and Public Employee Claims Division, Appellants
v.
Patricia HINES, Appellee
Rehearing Denied January 15, 2020
APPEAL
FROM THE ARKANSAS WORKERS COMPENSATION COMMISSION [NO.
G802238]
Robert
H. Montgomery, for appellants.
Moore,
Giles & Matteson, L.L.P., by: Greg Giles, for appellee.
OPINION
RITA W.
GRUBER, Chief Judge
Page 184
Appellants University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)
and the Public Employee Claims Division appeal a decision of
the Arkansas Workers Compensation Commission awarding
appellee Patricia Hines benefits for an injury to her left
knee. For reversal, appellants contend that the Commission
erred in finding that Hines was performing employment
services at the time she was injured. We affirm.
On
March 28, 2018, Hines slipped and fell at work resulting in a
left-patella fracture, which required surgical
repair.[1] Following her injury, Hines filed a
claim for workers-compensation benefits. Appellants
controverted the claim in its entirety, alleging that Hines
was not performing employment services at the time of the
accident. A hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ)
took place on October 24, 2018. Hines was the only witness to
testify.
Hines
testified that she worked for UAMS as a surgical-services
patient-unit coordinator. She worked from the front desk of
the unit and was responsible for scheduling, coordinating,
and staffing the departments thirty-two surgical rooms. Her
normal shift was from 2:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. She was
required to clock in at the beginning of her shift and clock
out when it was over. Hines stated she had had two
fifteen-minute breaks and a thirty-minute lunch
break.[2] Her breaks were not scheduled. She
explained, "Because of the nature of my position at the
front desk, there is no scheduled time because theres cases
and theres emergencies and theres traumas, so I have to fit
in a break where I can, if I can." She usually combined
her break with her lunch to take just one break.
On the
day of her accident, Hines took her break at approximately
6:30 p.m. She left her second-floor work area and rode the
elevator down to the first floor. When she exited the
elevator, she answered a phone call from her granddaughter.
She had taken approximately ten to fifteen steps when she
slipped and fell. Hines testified that when she was taking
her break she was not headed to any specific place. She often
took her break in the lobby because it was sunny, and she
enjoyed the piano. Hines said that she generally used her
break to get away from her department and to take care of
things she couldnt handle while she was at work, such as
calling family members. She explained that she worked in a
"very stressful department" and that breaks were
necessary to refresh and return with more energy and better
performance.
Hines
testified that she did not clock out during her breaks and
was still on duty. She explained there are emergencies and
traumas at any time and that she is the only unit coordinator
on that shift. If there was an emergency, the head nurse
would call her to return immediately, which was why Hines
stayed in the building and did
Page 185
not clock out. If she were to leave the building, UAMS policy
required her to clock out so they knew she was not in the
building. When asked if she was required to take her breaks
on the premises or if she could leave, Hines answered,
"No, I could not leave." The nurse manager covered
her desk when Hines was on break. On the day of the accident,
Hines did not get a call to return, but she had been called
back three to four times during her six years in that
position.
The
ALJ found that Hines failed to prove by a preponderance of
the evidence that she was performing employment services at
the time of her fall. The Commission, in a split ...