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Rivera v. M&R;Cable Contractors12/15/2004
AFFIRMED AS AMENDED AND REMANDED.
M&R;Cable Contractors, Inc., and its insurer, Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company, appeal a judgment of the Office of Workers' Compensation which found that Juan Rivera was its employee and, therefore, entitled to workers' compensation benefits. It also appeals the amount of indemnity benefits and the award of penalties and attorney fees.
FACTS
M&R;was a business located in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, engaged in the business of installing satellite and cable television. The company was started in 1996 by Ricky Hazleton and his son-in-law, Mike Fontenot. The business was incorporated a few years later, with Mike owning fifty percent of the stock and his wife Penny, Ricky's daughter, owning the other fifty percent of the stock. Ricky explained that, although he was not listed on the documents, he did receive fifty percent of the profits at times.
M&R;received orders from a cable company. In turn M&R;then issued work orders to its installers. From the record, it appears that each installer had a certain area he would work. Penny worked in the office handling the payroll, secretarial work, and sending the men out on their jobs. Juan was one of the installers for the company from November 2000 to April 2001. Juan's wife, Deloris, is Ricky's sister. She also worked with the company along with her son, Willie Ford, and Juan. Juan and Willie did not have driver's licenses, so Deloris would drive them to the different jobs.
In April 2001, Juan went to work for T&T;Pipeline & Construction Company. He worked through the end of June, at which time the job he was on was completed. On July 23, 2001, Juan was installing cable on one of M&R;s jobs when he fell from a twenty to twenty-five foot extension ladder to the ground suffering serious injuries. Among other injuries, Juan suffered a left pelvic fracture and L1, L2 body fractures. He was initially taken by ambulance to the emergency room in Natchez, Mississippi. However, due to the serious nature of his injuries, he was later transferred to St. Francis Cabrini Hospital. Doctors at that hospital thought Juan would be better served by having surgery in a major trauma center, so he was transferred to New Orleans.
M&R;and Bridgefield denied Juan's request for workers' compensation or medical indemnity benefits. Juan filed a disputed claim with the Office of Workers' Compensation on December 10, 2001. A trial on the matter was held on June 20, 2003. After trial, the workers' compensation judge (WCJ) rendered oral reasons for judgment. The judge ruled that Juan was an employee at the time of the accident thus he was entitled to workers' compensation benefits. Juan was awarded temporary total disability benefits at the rate of $323.17 per week commencing with the date of the accident. M&R;and Bridgefield were also held responsible for all work-related medical expenses. Additionally, penalties in the amount of $4,000 as well as attorney fees in the amount of $9,000 were awarded. It is from this judgment that M&R;and Bridgefield appealed.
EMPLOYEE STATUS
M&R;first argues that the WCJ erred in finding that there was an employment relationship between it and Juan. It claims that this finding was clearly wrong because the testimonies of Juan, his wife, his sister-in-law, his brother-in-law, and his step-son are inconsistent.
The WCJ, in oral reasons for judgment, explained his conclusion that Juan was an employee as follows:
Now while not very articulate, he was believable. Under strong pointed cross examination he never wavered, and his story, taken in context, makes much mo
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