We granted Jacinto Flores’s application for discretionary appeal in this workers’ compensation case to determine whether the superior court properly remanded the case to the Appellate Division of the State Workers’ Compensation Board “the Board” for correction of legal errors in the Board’s decision. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the superior court. In reviewing a workers’ compensation award, both this Court and the superior court must construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the party who prevailed before the Board. The Board’s factual findings are conclusive and binding on a reviewing court when supported by any evidence, and neither this Court nor the superior court is authorized to substitute itself as a factfinding body in lieu of the Board.1 Viewed in favor of Flores, the record establishes that he sustained a compensable on-the-job injury on February 12, 2008, when he injured his back while lifting a large tire. Flores did not return to work. His claim was accepted by the employer, Dependable Tire Co., Inc., which paid indemnity benefits to Flores monthly in the amount of $381.96 starting from the February 12, 2008 injury. 2 On November 18, 2008, as Flores was leaving a doctor’s appointment related to the February compensable injury, the vehicle in which he was riding was struck from the rear, and he was slammed into the dashboard, causing him to lose consciousness. The vehicle in which Flores was traveling was provided by the employer. Although Flores testified that he did not choose the transport service provided to him, there was evidence that the employer’s insurance company provided the vehicle because Flores requested it and that the employer was not involved in scheduling Flores’s appointments. As a result of the collision, Flores complained of pain in his neck and back, as well as in his chest, abdomen, pelvis and knees. He was diagnosed as having acute chest, abdomen, and pelvic blunt trauma, neck sprain, and acute contusions to both knees.
The medical records reflect that prior to the November automobile accident, Flores had been evaluated for surgical treatment of his herniated disks that were related to his work-related injury. At his appointment on the day of the accident, Flores reported that his pain intensity was eight out of ten. The physician noted that Flores had “failed rehabilitation services and medications,” and Flores was again referred for surgery.
