Wanda Wilson sought workers’ compensation benefits, alleging that her exposure to fumes from wallpaper glue and primer during the remodeling of her workplace resulted in permanent brain damage. The Appellate Division of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation “State Board” found that Wilson had not suffered a compensable work-related injury, but the superior court reversed the State Board’s decision. Having granted the employer and its insurer’s application for discretionary appeal, we reverse the superior court because there was some evidence to support the State Board’s decision to decline to award benefits. “In reviewing an award of workers’ compensation benefits, both the superior court and this Court are required to construe the evidence in a light most favorable to the party prevailing before the State Board.” Citation and punctuation omitted. YKK USA, Inc. v. Patterson , 287 Ga. App. 537 652 SE2d 187 2007. So viewed, the evidence showed that Wilson worked as a clinical technician for Hughston Orthopedic Hospital, taking vital signs, making beds, and assisting with patient baths. In May 2006, Wilson was assigned to a hospital floor where new wallpaper was being installed. On two occasions, Wilson felt sick from the fumes from the wallpaper glue and primer, but she was able to keep working. On May 25, 2006, however, the fumes left her unable to breath and again feeling sick. Wilson was taken to the emergency room, where she fainted and was admitted to the hospital for further observation. According to Wilson, when she regained consciousness, she exhibited signs of brain injury, including that she could not talk, could not walk, and had a headache. During her hospital stay, however, Wilson underwent a battery of tests, all of which revealed normal brain functioning.
Following her discharge from the hospital, Wilson never returned to work. She saw numerous doctors, complaining of headaches, fainting episodes, dizziness, and difficulty speaking. Several follow-up neurological assessments and tests continued to show normal brain functioning. A neurologist who evaluated Wilson concluded that it was highly likely that her problems had a “psychogenic” or psychological —rather than physiological —origin.1 At the request of her attorney, however, Wilson consulted with another neurologist, Dr. Larry Empting. Dr. Empting, who met with Wilson one time and did not conduct any tests, concluded that Wilson had a chemical sensitivity to the wallpaper materials and that the chemical exposure at work had caused lasting neurological problems.
