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Couch v. City of Rainbow City12/17/2004
Karen Couch sued her former employer, Rainbow City ("the City"), seeking workers' compensation benefits pursuant to the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act ยง 25-5-1 et seq., Ala. Code 1975 ("the Act"), based on an alleged occupational disease. Specifically, Couch alleged in her complaint that she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD") and "occupational depression" in the line and scope of her employment as a police dispatcher for the City. Couch later amended her complaint to allege that the events causing her PTSD that were set forth her initial complaint also caused a physical injury under the Act. The City answered and denied liability.
Shortly after filing its answer, the City filed a motion for a summary judgment. In support of the summary-judgment motion, the City submitted the deposition testimony of Couch; the deposition testimony of Dr. Daniel Doleys, a clinical psychologist; and the deposition testimony of Dr. Billy McCroskey, a vocational expert, and the corresponding exhibits to those depositions. Couch filed a response. Following a hearing on the motion, the trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of the City, stating, in part, that "no evidence has been presented to show that [Couch] suffered any physical injury which resulted in the mental and emotional problems from which she allegedly suffers." Couch filed a postjudment motion. The trial court denied that motion, and Couch timely appealed.
The undisputed facts presented to the trial court indicate that Couch was 49 years old at the time of the hearing in this matter; she has a high-school education. Couch worked for the City for 20 years. During her employment with the City, Couch worked as a dispatcher and switchboard operator. In that capacity, Couch received 911 emergency telephone calls and calls for the local fire department. Couch's job also required her to dispatch assistance for medical emergencies by performing "emergency medical dispatch" over the telephone. Her typical work schedule required her to work eight and one-half hour shifts, six days a week, followed by three days off. Couch earned $11.46 per hour at the time that she was terminated from her employment with the City in April 2002. At the time of the hearing in this matter, Couch was unemployed.
In her complaint, Couch focuses on two incidents that she alleges caused her to suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and depression. In October 1998, while working as a dispatcher for the City, Couch received a call involving three police officers serving on a drug task force who were in need of medical assistance. One of the officers had been shot and killed, while another had lost a leg. In a separate incident in 2001, the remaining, uninjured officer involved in the 1998 incident, Roy, called Couch, in her capacity as a dispatcher, to request medical assistance for himself. Roy committed suicide before medical personnel could reach him. Couch testified that she was particularly close to Roy and the other injured police officer involved in the 1998 incident. Couch was not physically injured as a result of the 1998 and 2001 incidents, and she showed no signs of a physical injury associated with the development of her psychological problems.
Couch testified that her job as a dispatcher was very stressful at all times. Couch recounted separate incidents in which she had received a call from a man who died from a heart attack while talking to her, a call from a teenager who committed suicide, and a call that a baby had died. After the 2001 incident, Couch approached a superior and inquired about counseling. On January 8, 2002, Couch had what she called an "emotional breakdown"; she did not return to work after that day. Couch attended c
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