WPC% 8%BTu=(SdUp䃫pSlVaa5Tl")3*`Yu+Bm(d=p|_ESޑNɜ= CL'D2.&HRôA^. ŵ! (rۊ+qi6[h@R N#/LȽȡsM dm]*h۲L@n/Ԟ_S4.1hh63bV11f6-]{I8 <_mzZ-Y:wMς& 3j `u֡OF+SIĻƷ- ڳ]2mn}t>SvclL-ƿx5x6 E. ܄2HAA#4Rlm_{)bOls$0lx~ddE*z.@l$N3`TBpY!7T(_'Bs~a\Go۴4ZH!w#! %# U N) 0w U :r4UNU: EwM 0@ 0D'U:kUNU NAU:/iU:WT 0L YNa^ co mq AOVU:t B D3 0 0                                    AQ.""" 0DE# D/# B################################################## 0$#HP LaserJet 8000 DN PS0 X(9 Z 6Times New Roman Regular(H=$  HTR[A' Legal[A' LegalA' LegalA' LegalTX_XXX7XXdXXd7,  AZ"Arial RegulartpO'3|xa XXX X XX Ad   FILED0     October20,1999  CecilCrowson,Jr.AppellateCourtClerk (hH  Z 6Times New Roman Regular,cAZ"Arial Regular`{```E`E`P`P`ӀaP a a aD a> a Uaaaaaaa aaaa ((3,$ H=!  HTR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'TXXX X8#}u}u aaa a R   4 Theplaintiff,age48,hasbeenmarried26years,is aa a a  a aa aahighschoolgraduate,andhasworkedasacarsalesmanmostofhisadultlife.ButonNovember4,1996,hewasotherwiseemployedatajobwhichrequiredheavylifting.Whileliftingabarrelfilledwithliquidweighingabout60pounds,heinjuredhislowerback,whicheventuallyrequiredsurgery.Hewasreleasedtoreturntoworkand justsataroundansweringthetelephonefortwoweeksbeforehewasterminatedasunabletodotherequiredwork.Hetestifiedthathehaslookedforworkelsewhere,butthat itshardtogetajobwhenyoucanthardlydoanything. 4 HewasinitiallyseenbyDr.StevenSanders,aneurologicalsurgeon,onNovember11,1996.AnMRIrevealedaherniateddisc.Conservativetreatmentprovedineffective,andDr.Sandersperformeda aaa adiskectomyonNovember30,1996.BasedontheAMA  ` Guidelines,heopinedthattheplaintiffhadatenpercentimpairment,andimposed 6  permanentliftingrestrictions. 4 TheplaintiffwasevaluatedbyDr.GilbertHyde,orthopedicphysician,onOctober20,1997.Heopinedthattheplaintiffhada24percentimpairmenttohiswholebodyasaresultofthebackinjuriesandsubsequentsurgery,basedontheGuidelines,whichhetestifiedtookintoaccountnotonlythediscsurgerybutalso   thelimitedrangeofmotionresultingfromsurgery,togetherwiththeliftingrestrictions. 4 Arehabilitativeexpertexaminedtheplaintiffbriefly.Hisopinionisassailedasnonprobative.TherecorddoesnotindicatethattheChancellorreliedupontheviewsofthisexpert. 4 TheappellantarguesthattheCourtshouldadoptthetenpercentimpairmentassessmentofDr.Sandersbecausehewasthesoletreatingphysician,ascontrastedtoDr.Hyde,whowasemployedbytheplaintiffashisevaluatorandadvocate.Therearenumerouscasesholdingthat,asageneralproposition,theopinionofthetreatingphysicianshouldsometimesbeaccordedgreaterweightthantheopinionofanindependentmedicalexaminer,whoisfrequentlyanadvocateaswellasevaluator.See,e.g.,Russellv.HarmonAutomotive,No.02S019502CH00017, F filedOct.13,1995,1995WL604609;Teaguev.TecumsehProducts,Inc.,No. V 02S019509CV00081,filedJuly15,1996,1996WL392137.ButthethrustofcaselawisdirectedtotheobviouspointthatallofthemedicalexpertsopinionsshouldbeconsideredobjectivelyandappropriateweightandworthascribedtoeachastheCourtdetermines. 4 TheappellantarguesthattheChancellorfailedtostatetheprecisemedicalimpairmentratingonwhichthe65percentpermanentpartialdisabilitywasbased,andthatthefactsdonotjustifythemultiplierofsixtimesimpairment. 4  4 AfterdiscussingthedivergentviewsofDr.SandersandDr.Hyde,theChancellorcommented̜ aaa a aaa a8 4 Imnotgoingtouseentirelyeitherdoctorspercentagebymultiplier...hewasunabletoreturntomeaningfulemployment...#}u}u?#}u}u,f'%4d#4d#  4  `     h   #}u}uuM# aaa a}u}u#}u}uL# }u#}u L# aa a L L aa a 4 TheChancellorfoundthattheplaintiffhadnotransferrableskills,buthadsome 6.)' skillsasasalesmanofcars.Hefoundthathecoulddootherwork, ifitsansweringthetelephone,andthathehas sustainedaconsiderabledifficulty.Whilehedidnotfindaspecificperc aaa aentageofdisability,we aaa athinkthat,incontext,theultimatefindingwasbasedonan  P impairmentassessmentof17percentwithamultiplierof3.8235,withintheambitofthestatute. 4 Theappellantcomplainsoftheallowanceofdiscretionarycostsfortheexpensesoftherehabilitationexpert,Dr.CraigColvin,whosetestimonywasbrief,aswashisexaminationoftheplaintiff,andwhoseopinionwasnotconsideredbytheCourt.Whiletheissueisclose,weareunabletofindthattheChancellorabusedhisdiscretioninawardingtheseexpensesunderRule54.04. 4 Themotionoftheplaintifftodeclarethisappealfrivolousandforanawardofattorneyfeesisdenied. 4 Thejudgmentisaffirmedatthecostsoftheappellant.̜ aaa a aa a# L LK# aa a}u}u aaa a 4  `     h    4  `     h     _______________________________ 4  `     h     WilliamH.Inman aaa a,SeniorJudge  P CONCUR:_______________________________FrankF.Drowota,III,Justice_______________________________JohnK.Byers,SeniorJudge#}u}uT# aaa a}u}u#}u}uS# aaa a }uԛ  Ѐ#}u V# aa a a}u}u a aa a aa a a     a a a o  L aaà# L  oT#