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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 08/06/96 OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 95-CC-00694 COA

SANDERSON FARMS, INC. AND LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY APPELLANTS v. ELIZABETH KEYS, KENDRICK KEYS, JAMES HANDY KEYS AND TOSHA KEYS, DEPENDENTS OF RUFUS DEWAYNE KEYS, DECEASED APPELLEES

THIS OPINION IS NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION AND MAY NOT BE CITED, PURSUANT TO M.R.A.P. 35-B

TRIAL JUDGE: HON. BILLY JOE LANDRUM COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: JONES COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS: RICHARD O. BURSON AND BRETT W. ROBINSON ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES: BILLY C. DOGGETTE AND GAYLON HARPER NATURE OF THE CASE: WORKERS' COMPENSATION TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: REVERSED DECISION OF COMMISSION AND AWARDED DEATH BENEFITS TO APPELLEES

BEFORE BRIDGES, P.J., DIAZ, AND SOUTHWICK, JJ. SOUTHWICK, J., FOR THE COURT:

Sanderson Farms, Inc. and its carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, appeal the circuit court's reversal of the Workers' Compensation Commission's decision to deny benefits to Keys' dependents. We find that credible, substantial evidence supports the Commission's decision and that the Commission committed no error of law. Consequently, we reverse the circuit court and reinstate the Commission's order.

FACTS Rufus Keys, a twenty-four-year-old, single man, died while he was in a hospital awaiting a heart transplant on December 11, 1991, three months after his last date of work at Sanderson Farms. Keys died from heart failure caused by arrhythmia, a disordered rhythm of the heart. His heart condition was diagnosed by his treating cardiologist as sarcoidosis. Keys' job at Sanderson Farms required manual labor and exposure at times to cold air and dry ice from a freezer. Approximately fifteen months after Keys left his employment, his parents, sister, and son (collectively "the claimants") filed a petition to controvert. The claimants argued that Keys' heart condition first manifested itself while he was employed by Sanderson Farms, and that this condition was aggravated and/or accelerated by his employment. As a result, the claimants maintained that they were entitled to death benefits under the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Act. Sanderson Farms and its carrier denied any causal relation between Keys' employment and his heart condition or death. On August 27, 1991, Keys consulted his primary care physician, Dr. B. R. Patel. Keys complained of wheezing and was diagnosed with acute asthmatic bronchitis with bronchospasm, a condition of which he had a previous history. Keys' last date of employment at Sanderson Farms was on September 6, 1991. One week later, Dr. Patel examined Keys again. This time, Keys complained of shortness of breath, a cough, a cold, and congestion, all of increasing severity. Dr. Patel determined that Keys was in congestive heart failure and admitted him into the hospital where Keys remained for five days. About two months later, Keys again suffered from congestive heart failure and was hospitalized until his death on December 11, 1991. During the three-month period preceding his death, Keys underwent extensive medical testing, observation, questioning, counseling and treatment. After a hearing on the claimants' petition, the administrative judge found that the claimants had failed to prove a causal connection between Keys' underlying medical condition and his employment. The administrative judge further found that Sanderson Farms and its carrier were irreparably prejudiced as a result of claimants' failure to provide timely notice of a claimed causal connection. Based on these findings, the administrative judge entered an order, later affirmed by the full commission, denying the petition for death benefits. The circuit court reversed the full commission's order and awarded benefits. DISCUSSION 1. Standard of Review We are reviewing the circuit court's reversal of the Commission's order. The circuit court sits as an intermediate court of appeals and is limited in its review. Lanterman v. Roadway Express, Inc., 608

So. 2d 1340, 1345 (Miss. 1992). It must defer to the Commission's findings unless the Commission has committed prejudicial error. Id. Likewise, "[a]bsent an error of law, where credible substantial evidence supports the Commission's decision, this Court, as well as the circuit court, may not interfere." Id. 2. Causation and the Burden of Proof The claimants bore the burden of proving by a fair preponderance of the evidence a causal connection between Keys' employment and his heart condition which resulted in death. Miss. Code Ann.

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