Pascucci v. Indus. Comm'n

In Pascucci v. Indus. Comm'n, 126 Ariz. 442, 616 P.2d 902 (App. 1980), the Court reviewed the Commission's award denying Pascuccci's petition to reopen his back injury claim. The award found that Pascucci had a herniated disc causally related to his industrial injury, but denied his petition because the ALJ had found that the herniated disc was not new. 126 Ariz. at 444, 616 P.2d 904. Upon review, the court decided that the herniated disc was either a new or a previously undiscovered condition. Id. at 445, 616 P.2d at 905. Coupled with the ALJ's finding of causation, the verification of that condition was sufficient to support reopening. While there is dicta in Pascucci that the case turned on the new discovery of the "true cause" of Pascucci's ongoing back pain, the decision in fact rested on the conclusion that the disc herniation condition was previously undiscovered. The causal determination had already been made by the ALJ at the hearing level.