Laura Wyatt, an employee of Baptist Health System, Inc. at Shelby Baptist Medical Center, reported an injury resulting from lifting a bag of dirty linens, leading to severe back and leg pain. This developed into her losing mobility below the waist and a diagnosis of transverse myelitis, a spinal cord condition. Wyatt pursued a claim under the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act in Jefferson Circuit Court, which was later transferred to Shelby Circuit Court. Here, the case was resolved in favor of Baptist Health System.
At the core of the legal battle was the cause of Wyatt's ailment. While Dr. Meador, Wyatt's physician, argued her work incident could have initiated a spinal-cord stroke leading to her condition, Dr. Kirschberg and Dr. Counce, testifying on behalf of the employer, refuted this claim. They identified transverse myelitis as an ailment that arises spontaneously, and not from trauma like the work incident described by Wyatt. Particularly, Dr. Counce proposed a vitamin B-12 deficiency as a potential cause for Wyatt's symptoms.
Wyatt appealed the decision, challenging the trial court's evaluation of the causation of her injuries. She believed that the court had given undue weight to conflicting testimonies and had not sufficiently favored the employee as required by the Workers' Compensation Act. However, the appellate court upheld the trial court's verdict, asserting that there was ample evidence to support the finding that Wyatt's condition was not a result of a work-related mishap.
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