 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Cormier v. Louisiana Southwest Scrap & Salvage12/1/2004
AFFIRMED AS AMENDED AND REMANDED.
David Cormier was injured while unloading a customer's scrap hauling truck at Louisiana Southwest Scrap and Salvage (Southwest). Southwest denied workers' compensation benefits, alleging Mr. Cormier was an independent contractor. The workers' compensation judge found that he was an employee and awarded benefits, penalties, and attorney fees. We amend the judgment to award interest, as well as to award a penalty for failing to provide medical treatment, and we remand for proper calculation of penalties in accordance with this opinion. In all other respects, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Mr. Cormier hauled scrap for Southwest for $12.00 a ton. He began hauling in 1997 and stopped on January 14, 2002, after falling off a crane and injuring his right shoulder and left hand. He reported the injury to Janet Widman, Southwest's secretary/bookkeeper, and sought treatment from the Stafford Clinic in Lafayette, then, the University Medical Center (UMC). An MRI performed on Mr. Cormier revealed a complete tear of the rotator cuff in the right shoulder. He underwent shoulder surgery at UMC on November 21, 2002.
On September 19, 2002, he filed a disputed claim for compensation with the Office of Workers' Compensation. Southwest denied that he was an employee but alleged, instead, that he was an independent contractor not engaged in substantial manual labor and therefore, was not entitled to workers' compensation. This case was tried on September 2, 2003. The workers' compensation judge concluded that Mr. Cormier was an employee of Southwest, not an independent contractor. It awarded him back due compensation and benefits from the date of the accident, as well as medical expenses, travel reimbursement, attorney fees, and a penalty fee. Southwest and Mr. Cormier appealed.
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
Southwest contends that the workers' compensation judge erred by concluding that Mr. Cormier was an employee of Southwest and not an independent contractor. It also maintains that the workers' compensation judge erred when it awarded total temporary disability, certain medical expenses, travel reimbursements, attorney fees, and penalties.
Mr. Cormier contends the workers' compensation judge erred by not penalizing Southwest for failing to provide medical treatment, for miscalculating the award amount, and for failing to award interest.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review factual findings in workers' compensation cases for manifest error. Under this standard, we decide only if the determinations of the workers' compensation judge were reasonable on the basis of the record. If the entirety of the record supports different conclusions, the workers' compensation judge's "choice between them can never be manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong." If, however, we determine no factual basis exists for the workers' compensation judge's determination, we decide if the record demonstrates that this finding is clearly wrong.
EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP
Southwest contends that Mr. Cormier is an independent contractor and therefore, is ineligible for workers' compensation benefits.
The determination of whether an employee-employer relationship exists is a factual one, made on a case by case basis, which we should not overturn unless the workers' compensation judge committed manifest error.
In the instant matter, the record supports the workers' compensation judge's conclusion that Mr. Cormier "was considered by all to be an integral part of the company's operation and was an employee." At trial, two employees testified that he routinely w
Page 1 2 3 4 Louisiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|