 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Compton v. Rinehart's Meat Processing2/19/2004
mand was made upon Employer for nursing services, we cannot find sufficient evidence of constructive notice to Employer.
The supposed notice during the 1996 hearing regarding the testimony that Claimant's wife assisted with discovering sores in his feet and putting on the Jobst stockings does not provide constructive notice as to the need for intensive nursing services. The cases in which the courts found constructive notice for past nursing services are easily distinguishable in that the severe injuries to the Claimant were immediately and obviously apparent to Employer. See Hall, 46 S.W.3d 30 (featuring a paraplegic claimant), Breckle, 980 S.W.2d 192 (regarding a claimant who suffered serious back injury ); Stephens, 446 S.W.2d 772 (involving a claimant in a "helpless bedfast condition"). Point I is granted; the award of past nursing services is reversed.
In Point II, Employer contends that the Commission erred when it awarded the Claimant's wife compensation for past and future nursing care services because the evidence and testimony of Claimant and his Wife demonstrated that Claimant is capable of performing these services on his own. We agree in part. Again, looking at Claimant's exhibit regarding Wife's daily services, we find several items that are simply unsupported by the record as necessary nursing services for Claimant's work-related injury .
At the 1996 hearing, Claimant testified that he had at least four episodes of cullulitis infection per year during which his leg became reddish in color, tender, swollen, and hot. With each outbreak, his Wife assisted in putting on a topical antibiotic and he stayed off the leg for a week and a half to two weeks. Claimant testified that his doctor had encouraged him to exercise so he mowed the lawn on a riding mower and with a push mower for thirty minutes to a couple of hours. He picked up sticks and gardened, used a motorized tiller, and bathed himself. He could walk a block and a half, was capable of driving, and could lift fifty pounds of weight. At the 2002 hearing, Claimant testified he hunted for deer yearly; in fact, he gutted a deer and took it to a packinghouse himself. After a tornado damaged his property, Claimant assisted in cleaning up the brush and debris from his deck by loading it onto a tarp and hauling it off to burn. He continued to mow and brush hog their fourteen acres, although he had assistance at times. He occasionally washed the dishes, ran the vacuum cleaner, and fished. He also changed the oil in their vehicles and washed them.
Claimant further testified that he showered and cleaned himself unassisted and was capable of washing and drying his leg three times per day. He could reach all parts of his leg to apply medication while seated, though it would be difficult to reach his feet during a period when the cellulitis was flaring, and had only twice tried to put the stockings on by himself. He was capable of washing his stockings, hanging the stockings to dry, preparing his own meals, and taking his medication, and was able to remove the stockings and elevate his leg without assistance. As for the pump, Claimant felt he could use the pump without assistance, although he was worried about wrinkles in the hose.
The testimony of Claimant and his Wife concerning his functional capacity does not conform to the award of nursing services for eight hours every single day of the week. Some of the claimed services are only necessary during periods of cellulitis outbreak, some of the services are not necessary nursing services at all, and some of the services are not in any way related to Claimant's work-related injury. For instance, the blood pressure checks relate to the hypertension and t
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Missouri Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|