UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-60576
CERES GULF, INC.
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
LONNIE HOUSER, SR.
Defendant-Appellee,
Appeal from the Benefits Review Board
(97-1522)
October 6, 1999
Before JONES, DeMOSS, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Ceres Gulf, Inc. (“Ceres”) appeals the Benefits Review
Board’s (“Board”) decision affirming (1) the Administrative Law
Judge’s (“ALJ”) award of permanent disability benefits and
attorney’s fees under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’
Compensation Act (“LHWCA”), 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-50 (1998); (2) the
ALJ’s denial of section 8(f) relief under the LHWCA; and (3) the
District Director’s award of an attorney’s fee. After hearing oral
arguments and reading the briefs and administrative decisions, this
court finds that there is substantial evidence supporting the
Board’s decision. This court, therefore, affirms.
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not
precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
This court reviews a decision of the Board regarding an
award of benefits under the LHWCA using the same standard of review
as the Board, namely whether the award is supported by substantial
evidence and is in accordance with the law. New Thoughts Fishing
Co. v. Chilton, 118 F.3d 1028, 1030 (5th Cir. 1997).
The record shows that Lonnie Houser, Sr. (“Houser”)
established a prima facie case that he aggravated a pre-existing
condition while working for Ceres on February 24, 1995. As a
result, Houser is entitled to the section 20(a) presumption that
the injury was causally related to his working conditions. Ceres
has failed to rebut this presumption. Although Ceres relies
heavily on the medical opinion of Dr. Nutik, Dr. Nutik’s testimony
is in fact consistent with the other medical doctors who opined
that Houser aggravated a pre-existing cervical spine condition on
February 24, 1995. Given the deference this court gives to the
ALJ’s credibility decisions, this court affirms the granting of
section 20(a) compensation.
Furthermore, this court finds that Ceres is not entitled
to section 8(f) relief since Houser did not have a pre-existing
permanent partial disability within the meaning of section 8(f).
As a result, this court does not reach the other issues raised by
Ceres with respect to section 8(f) relief. Since this court also
finds that the attorney’s fees were reasonable, this court affirms.
AFFIRMED.