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Durham v. Plum Creek Manufacturing5/10/2000
the lead man on the plaintiff's shift, that his back was hurting from straightening loads with the forklift. However, it does not appear that Wright understood that the plaintiff's back suddenly popped and started hurting while he was operating the forklift. Wright denied that the plaintiff informed him that he had a work-related accident in April 1998. According to Wright, on April 23, the plaintiff was walking slowly and told him that his back was hurting. Wright did not ask the plaintiff why his back hurt. He stated that he was not aware that the plaintiff claimed a work-related accident until much later when he was so informed by the plaintiff's supervisor, Jimmy Atwell.
According to Jimmy Atwell, the plaintiff was a good worker who had no prior workers' compensation claims. Atwell said that the plaintiff never told him that his back was hurting, but rather reported that he had a doctor's appointment. Atwell knew that the plaintiff had a heart condition and assumed that the plaintiff was seeking medical attention for that reason.
Paul Williams, the sawmill superintendent at Plum Creek, stated in his deposition that he knew the plaintiff had a heart condition and once was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire at the mill. However, he was not aware that the plaintiff had a back problem. According to Williams, the mill's first notification that the plaintiff claimed a work-related back injury was on May 6, 1998, when they received a call from the emergency room of the Winn Parish Medical Center, where the plaintiff had gone, complaining of back pain from an accident at work. According to Williams, on May 18, 1998, he had a meeting with the plaintiff and Judia Hobdy, the human resources coordinator at the mill. In that meeting, the plaintiff stated that he injured his back while operating his forklift. He also stated that he had a disc injury from 1993 that had flared up again.
Judia Hobdy, the human resources coordinator at Plum Creek, stated in her deposition that company policy required that the supervisor complete an accident report as soon as an accident is reported. A workers' compensation adjuster in Arkansas is then given the form within 48 hours. In this case, the supervisors did not complete an accident report because they claimed to be unaware that the plaintiff had suffered an accident and a work-related injury . Hobdy stated that the mill management knew on May 6, 1998 that the plaintiff claimed to have had a work-related accident. However, because they took the position that the accident was not reported according to set procedures, the plaintiff's workers' compensation claim was denied. The mill also took the position that the plaintiff was merely having difficulties with an old back problem.
The record shows that the plaintiff told Edward Wright and Jimmy Atwell that his back was hurting from straightening stacks of wood with his forklift. However, it appears that he did not clearly communicate at that time that he was claiming a work-related accident. Further, some statements made by the plaintiff during his meetings with the mill management indicated that he was having a recurrence of a longstanding back problem, rather than suffering from an accident as statutorily defined. Under these facts, we find that the WCJ did not abuse her discretion in finding that the plaintiff's claim was reasonably controverted and accordingly, denying the plaintiff's claim for penalties and attorney fees.
CONCLUSION
We affirm in all respects the judgment of the workers' compensation judge, awarding temporary total disability benefits and supplemental earnings benefits to the plaintiff, Foster J. Durham, and denying the plaintiff's claim for
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