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An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

NO. COA02-418 NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS Filed: REATHER DRUMGOLD, Employee, Plaintiff, v. PERDUE FARMS, INC., Employer, SELF-INSURED (Crawford & Co., Servicing Agent), Defendant. North Carolina Industrial Commission I.C. No. 907057 31 December 2002

Appeal by defendant from opinion and award entered 30 January 2002 by the Full Industrial Commission. Appeals 13 November 2002. Law Offices of Robert J. Willis, by Robert J. Willis, for plaintiff-appellee. Haynsworth Baldwin Johnson and Greaves, L.L.C., by Brian M. Freedman, for defendant-appellant. EAGLES, Chief Judge. Purdue Farms, Inc. ("defendant") appeals from an opinion of the Industrial Commission awarding Reather Drumgold ("plaintiff") temporary total disability benefits, attorney fees, and medical expenses for treatment of her carpal tunnel syndrome. this appeal because it is interlocutory. We dismiss Heard in the Court of

-2The evidence before the Industrial Commission tended to show the following. Plaintiff was employed at defendant's factory in Plaintiff

Lewiston from 1 March 1985 until 10 September 1997.

first worked as a packer for defendant, which required plaintiff to price and package whole chickens as the chickens moved along a conveyor line. Plaintiff was transferred to the evisceration Plaintiff testified

section of defendant's plant on 9 April 1996.

that she requested a transfer from the packing section because of pain in her hands and right shoulder. evisceration section as a "draw Plaintiff worked in the This job assignment

hand."

required plaintiff to cut defective parts off poultry with knives and scissors as the poultry moved along a conveyor line. Plaintiff testified that the pain in her hands and right shoulder intensified after her transfer to the evisceration section. Plaintiff began to see a doctor as a result of this pain. Plaintiff was taken off the The liver

draw hand job and assigned a job as "liver puller."

puller job required plaintiff to reach into chicken carcasses as they traveled by conveyor line and position the livers for removal by a machine. Plaintiff continued working as a liver puller until

her employment with defendant ended. Plaintiff consulted Dr. Hansen from April 1996 onwards and Dr. Doss starting in May 1996. defendant's "Wellness Center." Both doctors were associated with Dr. Doss recommended surgery for However, Dr.

plaintiff's carpal tunnel syndrome in August 1996.

Hansen suggested that plaintiff would not need the surgery if she were allowed to rotate jobs every two hours. In September 1997,

-3plaintiff was diagnosed by Dr. Bruce Tetalman as having

fibromyalgia in her shoulder and was excused from work.

Plaintiff

sought treatment from Dr. Morales in autumn 1997 without obtaining prior permission from defendant or from the Industrial Commission. On 7 November 1997, Dr. Morales performed carpal tunnel release surgery on plaintiff's right hand, which provided her some relief from pain. In January 1999, plaintiff filed for workers' compensation disability as a result of her carpal tunnel syndrome. denied her claim. A deputy commissioner for the Defendant Industrial

Commission heard plaintiff's claim in June 2000.

On 30 November

2000, the deputy commissioner issued an opinion awarding plaintiff temporary total disability and medical expenses for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Defendant appealed the deputy

commissioner's award to the Full Commission, where it was affirmed. From this opinion and award, defendant appeals to this Court. As a preliminary matter, we must determine whether this appeal is properly before this Court. An opinion and award of the

Industrial Commission can be appealed to this Court only upon "the same terms and conditions as govern appeals from the superior court." G.S.

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