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Piatkowski v. Wal-Mart Stores11/8/2002
This workers' compensation action is before us on appeal from a judgment in favor of the claimant, Hollis Piatkowski, and against her employer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Hollis Piatkowski had been an employee of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. for five years prior to January 19, 2000, when she alleged that she injured herself lifting heavy merchandise while serving at the register as a cashier. Prior to this date, Ms. Piatkowski had suffered with lower back pain and was already under the care of a chiropractor, Dr. Fred Fernandez. Ms. Piatkowski had previously turned in a doctor's slip to Mary Worley, the personnel manager at Wal-Mart, which stated that she needed to be put on light duty. In her five years of working at Wal-Mart, Ms. Piatkowski had always been restricted from lifting heavy items. As a result, Ms. Piatkowski should not have been serving as a cashier, because the cashier position was not considered a light duty position. According to Ms. Worley, she remembered that Ms. Piatkowski gave her the slip and she admitted that she failed to inform the "front end" manager, Jennifer Sepulvado, that Ms. Piatkowski should not be on the register. Ms. Worley stated she thought Ms. Piatkowski would inform the "front end" manager. It was not until after the accident that Ms. Worley related to Ms. Sepulvado that Ms. Piatkowski should not have been on a register.
When the accident occurred, according to Ms. Piatkowski, she assumed that the pain was the same that she had experienced before and that it would subside. As a result, she continued her shift as a cashier for that day but did not report the accident on that day. Thereafter, she missed several days of work. When the pain did not subside, she made an appointment to see her physician. Once she returned to work at Wal-Mart, she informed her superiors that she had injured her back as a result of lifting heavy merchandise some time before, and requested that Wal-Mart help pay her medical bills. There was some confusion and denial about whether Ms. Piatkowski had specifically stated that she had lifted a twenty-five pound bag of dog food. According to Ms. Piatkowski, she indicated to Ms. Worley that it could have been a twenty-five pound bag of dog food that she had lifted but she was not sure. However, she related to Dr. Stuart Phillips on a written questionnaire that she hurt her back while lifting a twenty-five pound bag of dog food. Wal-Mart reviewed the electronic journal of the cashier receipts and found no evidence of a twenty-five pound bag of dog food having been scanned on that day. As a result, Wal-Mart declined to pay Ms. Piatkowski's medical bills.
On May 12, 2000, Ms. Piatkowski filed a "Disputed Claim For Compensation" alleging a work-related injury to her hip. Wal-Mart answered Ms. Piatkowski's claim denying that Ms. Piatkowski had suffered injuries related to an accident on January 19, 2000. Based on the circumstances, Wal-Mart denied Ms. Piatkowski indemnity benefits and medical benefits.
This matter was heard by the Office of Workers' Compensation ("OWC") on August 24, 2001. At the conclusion of trial, the OWC asked the attorneys to submit post-trial memorandums and took the matter under advisement. Thereafter, on September 21, 2001, the OWC rendered judgment in favor of Ms. Piatkowski, finding the following:
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that claimant, Hollis Piatkowski, has carried her burden of proof as to the accident and subsequent injury of January 19, 2000, and she is hereby entitled to indemnity and medical benefits.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the defendant's, Wal-Ma
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