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Templet v. S & B Engineers & Constructors6/21/2002
FACTS
Mr. Paul Lonny Templet, a carpenter, filed a disputed claim for compensation on August 16, 1999, against his employer, S & B Engineers and Construction, Ltd. (S&B;. He averred that he was injured on October 14, 1998, as he was installing a kicker against a form and his foot slipped. He twisted his right knee and hip, falling on his right knee. S&B;paid some workers' compensation benefits to Mr. Templet, but later terminated his employment on June 10, 1999.
Mr. Templet subsequently amended his claim to assert that defendants arbitrarily and capriciously failed to pay all medical expenses arising from his injury ; thus, he was entitled to statutory penalties, interest, reasonable attorney fees, and all other relief provided under law.
S&B;answered the petition, generally denying that Mr. Templet sustained an injury during the course and scope of employment and asserting that Mr. Templet was guilty of La. R.S. 23:1208 and 1208.1 violations.
At trial, the parties stipulated that Mr. Templet suffered a work-related injury and that his medical expenses had been paid with the exception of the disputed medical expenses that were incurred after Mr. Templet was released by his treating physician as having reached maximum medical improvement. The parties also stipulated that Mr. Templet's termination was not related to his medical condition or his injury.
After trial on the merits, the workers' compensation judge denied Mr. Templet's claim for supplemental earning benefits and ruled that S&B;was responsible for the medical bills entered into evidence and accepted as exhibit P-2. Also, Mr. Templet's claim for penalties and attorney fees was denied.
The workers' compensation judge, in his oral reasons for judgment, noted that Mr. Templet's credibility had been significantly called into question by convictions of crimes of moral turpitude. The workers' compensation judge noted that S&B;s heightened suspicion about medical expenses incurred after Mr. Templet's release by his treating physician was justified.
Mr. Templet sustained a back injury while working for a previous employer in the early 1990's. Mr. Templet admitted at trial that while he was receiving workers' compensation benefits for that back injury, he was engaged in physical activity, which was videotaped by the workers' compensation insurer, resulting in criminal proceedings being brought against him. Mr. Templet pled guilty to workers' compensation fraud and was on probation for that offense at the time of trial. Also, in 1990, Mr. Templet pled guilty in East Baton Rouge Parish to the crime of receiving stolen goods.
Further, prior to the trial of this case, Mr. Templet had filed a large number of personal injury lawsuits, including a suit against S&B;for a claim of chemical exposure.
Mr. Templet had filed suit against Progressive Insurance Company for an automobile accident, which he explained as "Someone rear ended me." He had filed suit against State Farm Insurance Company for another automobile accident that occurred in a parking lot when he was leaving Dr. Hubbard's office. That claim settled.
Also following the S&B;claim at issue herein, Mr. Templet filed suit against Shoney's for an injury that occurred when he was washing his hands and an air conditioning duct fell out of the ceiling and hit him. That suit settled out of court.
Mr. Templet filed suit against Liberty Mutual Insurance for an automobile accident that occurred when he was driving his daughter to work. That suit settled out of court. He filed suit against Blimpie's for an injury that occurred when he went to s
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