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Melcher v. American Cast Iron and Pipe Co.6/7/2002
Clifford Melcher sued his employer, American Cast Iron and Pipe Company ("ACIPCO"), on December 7, 1998, seeking to recover workers' compensation benefits for an injury he sustained to his back during the course of his employment with ACIPCO. Melcher and ACIPCO entered into a settlement agreement whereby they agreed to settle Melcher's workers' compensation claim. The trial court approved the settlement on July 16, 1999.
Thereafter, Melcher was terminated from his employment with ACIPCO for violating company Rule 23 regarding excessive absenteeism. On October 13, 2000, Melcher petitioned the court to reopen his workers' compensation claim pursuant to § 25-5-57(a)(3)i., Ala. Code 1975, alleging that his employment with ACIPCO had been terminated. Following an ore tenus proceeding, the trial court entered an order denying Melcher's petition. Melcher appeals.
This case is governed by the 1992 Workers' Compensation Act. This Act provides that an appellate court's review of the standard of proof and its consideration of other legal issues shall be without a presumption of correctness. § 25-5-81(e)(1), Ala. Code 1975. It further provides that when an appellate court reviews a trial court's findings of fact, those findings will not be reversed if they are supported by substantial evidence. § 25-5-81(e)(2). Our supreme court "has defined the term 'substantial evidence,' as it is used in § 12-21- 12(d), to mean 'evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved.'" Ex parte Trinity Indus., Inc., 680 So. 2d 262, 268 (Ala. 1996), quoting West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547 So. 2d 870, 871 (Ala. 1989). This court has also concluded: "The new Act did not alter the rule that this court does not weigh the evidence before the trial court." Edwards v. Jesse Stutts, Inc., 655 So. 2d 1012, 1014 (Ala. Civ. App. 1995).
Melcher was 35 years old at the time of the hearing and had been employed with ACIPCO since April 1992. He suffered a back injury in a work-related accident in December 1996. Melcher sought treatment for his back injury and was diagnosed with a herniated disc at the L3-L4 level. He underwent surgery in April 1997 to repair the disc. Following the surgery, Melcher continued to complain of back pain; he was eventually diagnosed with a second herniated disc at the T12-L1 level. He underwent a second surgery in July 1997 to repair the disc. Melcher developed a chronic-pain condition in his back, for which he continued to be treated for his authorized treating physicians at ACIPCO Health Services.
After Melcher settled his workers' compensation claim, he returned to work with ACIPCO. He worked in several transitional positions that had varying physical demands. He stated that these jobs caused him problems with his back. He continued to receive treatment from the ACIPCO physicians; he was also referred to Dr. Jack Denver, a pain- management specialist, and to Dr. Sean O'Malley for epidural injections.
On May 25, 2000, Dr. Denver recommended that Melcher "discontinue working and to seek counseling with [Vocational Rehabilitation Services] for other possible job skills and education." However, on the following day, Dr. Denver notified the ACIPCO physicians that Melcher should be placed in a position that was sedentary and that required no repetitive lifting, bending, squatting, or stooping. Dr. Denver also restricted Melcher from working at unprotected heights or operating equipment that vibrates; he also placed a lifting restriction on Melcher.
Melcher was eventually placed in a position in the human- resource departmen
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