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Fornea v. Norwell Equipment Co.11/8/2002
Judge William F. Kline, Jr., Retired, serving Pro Tempore by special appointment of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
This appeal challenges the award of workers' compensation benefits. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Bret Fornea was employed by Norwell Equipment Company as a mechanic. On June 1, 2000, while working for Norwell, Mr. Fornea had a work-related accident when he slipped on some mud outside the shop door. Mr. Fornea reported the incident to his supervisor, complaining of back pain, and was sent to Health South, where x-rays were taken. Several days later, he was referred to Dr. Randall Lea, an orthopedic surgeon. Complaining of back pain, Mr. Fornea related that he had done a "split" when he slipped at work. Dr. Lea observed tenderness in Mr. Fornea's spine and joint, and initially believed that Mr. Fornea was suffering from a joint problem based on the account of the work accident. Dr. Lea recommended therapy, and later ordered a bone scan after Mr. Fornea continued to complain of pain in the left lower back.
Mr. Fornea attempted to return to work at Norwell, but could not perform his job as a mechanic and was terminated on July 7, 2000. American Interstate Insurance Company, Norwell's compensation carrier, immediately began paying disability benefits.
On August 6, 2000, Mr. Fornea went to the emergency room of North Oaks hospital complaining of leg pain. Mr. Fornea and his wife testified that Mr. Fornea's foot got caught while climbing stairs into their mobile home, causing him to fall. However, records of the visit state under the section for "chief complaint" that Mr. Fornea "wiped out" on a dirt bike and injured his ankle and right leg. Mr. Fornea denied having told anyone at the emergency room that he had been riding a motorcycle on that date. Rather, he explained, when questioned about a calcium deposit on his tailbone shown on the x-rays, he related that in 1991, he fell off a motorcycle and injured his tailbone.
X-rays taken at the emergency room revealed that Mr. Fornea had a broken leg. Mr. Fornea returned to Dr. Lea twelve days later, where he related the leg injury , telling Dr. Lea that he had fallen while climbing stairs. Dr. Lea again recommended therapy and was considering releasing him to work at the end of September.
On October 5, 2000, American terminated compensation benefits. On November 13, 2000, Mr. Fornea visited Dr. Lea, continuing to complain of back pain. Dr. Lea ordered an MRI, which revealed a disc bulge that was possibly impinging on a nerve root. Dr. Lea revised his diagnosis, stating that Mr. Fornea was not capable of going back to regular duty at Norwell in light of his spinal injury . Further, Dr. Lea stated that Mr. Fornea was a surgical candidate, and referred him to a neurosurgeon for an evaluation. Dr. Lea related that the neurosurgeon did recommend back surgery. According to Mr. Fornea, that surgery has never been performed because American refused to pay the costs.
After the presentation of the evidence, Workers' Compensation Judge Robert Varnado ruled from the bench that the evidence established that Mr. Fornea injured his spine while working for Norwell. The WC] found that Mr. Fornea was temporarily totally disabled from the date of the accident, through the hearing and beyond. He ordered American to pay all medically reasonable and necessary treatment relating to the work accident, but declined to award penalties and attorney's fees, finding that the confusion surrounding the medical reports regarding the tail bone injury and the fall on the steps justified the suspension of benefits.
This appeal, taken by American and Norwell, followed.
DIS
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