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Guidry v. International Maintenance Co.12/8/2004
AFFIRMED.
Russell Guidry appeals the workers' compensation judge's (WCJ) determination that he failed to prove an injury in the course and scope of his employment. For the following reasons, we affirm.
Discussion of the Record
Mr. Guidry alleges that he sustained a corneal ulcer and subsequent transplant as a result of a rust particle becoming embedded in his right eye in the early morning hours of May 8, 2002, as he was "breaking down" rusty bolts while working the night shift for International Maintenance Company (IMC). Mr. Guidry completed that shift, but did not report for his next one, and he was subsequently laid off. He returned to the job site later that week to request his final paycheck, but he did not remember if he reported the accident at that time. Other employees who saw him then testified that he appeared to be drunk and that his eye was swollen, but that he did not report a work-related injury .
Mr. Guidry first sought medical treatment at 10:55 a.m. on May 11, 2002, at Moss Regional Medical Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he reported that something got in his right eye three days earlier, while he was wearing safety glasses. He was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer and transferred to LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. The emergency room report at Moss Regional states that Mr. Guidry "confirms about 7 beers since midnight."
Mr. Guidry remained at LSU Medical Center from May 12, 2002, until his discharge on June 4, 2002. His discharge summary states that he received medication for acute major eye infections, with a principal diagnosis of "corneal ulcer, unspecified" and a secondary diagnosis of "alcohol abuse continuous use." Dr. Christopher Shelby, who examined Mr. Guidry upon his admission, stated that his right-eye symptoms included elevated eye pressure; an extensive epithelial infiltrate, which occurs when normal membrane cells begin sloughing off; and a 20% hypopyon, or an accumulation of pus, in the anterior chamber of the eye. According to Dr. Shelby, the most common cause of a corneal ulcer is infection, but it can also be caused by a Vitamin A deficiency secondary to alcoholism. Dr. Shelby was unable to obtain a bacterial or fungal culture to determine the source of this infection, and he did not locate a foreign body in the eye. Dr. Wally Nawas, who treated Mr. Guidry during his hospitalization, believed the infection was fungal in nature because Mr. Guidry started to improve after being given antifungal medication. Dr. Nawas had difficulty stating that the ulcer was caused by a foreign body, especially a piece of rust, because he would have expected to see a "rust ring" where the particle had become embedded in the cornea and because he believed the pain would have been so intense that Mr. Guidry would have sought immediate medical attention.
At Defendant's request, Dr. William Hart examined Mr. Guidry approximately one year later, after he had undergone a corneal transplant. Dr. Hart also believed that Mr. Guidry would have sought medical attention on the day of his accident, as the average person who had a foreign body that was causing a corneal ulcer would be in excruciating pain. According to Dr. Hart, even a benign invasion of the cornea would be uncomfortable at the outset. Because of the delay in seeking treatment, Dr. Hart thought it only a small possibility that an accident as described by Mr. Guidry was the originating injury . Dr. Hart also explained how alcoholics, especially those who also smoked, were known to have similar eye problems.
At trial, Mr. Guidry testified that he was wearing safety glasses and a hard hat when something got into his eye. (In his deposition,
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