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Joseph v. J.E. Merit Constructions6/21/2002
Whipple, J. concurs in the result.
Claimant appeals judgment denying her medical and indemnity benefits. For the following reasons, we reverse in part and remand.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The claimant, Devonna C. Joseph, was hired by J.E. Merit Constructors, Inc. (J.E. Merit) in October 1999 to work as a general laborer at an Exxon facility located in Baton Rouge. On January 13, 2000, as she tried to avoid the spray of a power washer being used by a co-worker to clean the area where they were working, Ms. Joseph slipped and fell against the iron hitch of a nearby trailer, injuring herself. On the advice of a co-worker, she reported the incident to her foreman. The foreman escorted Ms. Joseph to the safety manager, who gave Ms. Joseph some medication and instructed her to go to another location and rest for the remainder of her shift. That evening, Ms. Joseph's pain grew worse and on the following day, she went to the emergency room of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (OLOL) for treatment. The emergency room physician who examined Ms. Joseph diagnosed her as having sustained a lumbar contusion, prescribed pain medication and instructed her to skip a day of work.
On returning to work, Ms. Joseph was tested for drug and alcohol use and then taken back to OLOL to have some x-rays taken. Thereafter, J.E. Merit scheduled an appointment for Ms. Joseph with Dr. J. Thomas Kilroy, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Kilroy first examined Ms. Joseph on January 18, 2000. Although Dr. Kilroy determined that she had no real neurological defects, he, nonetheless, ordered some diagnostic tests and conservative treatment, based on her subjective complaints.
Sometime after being initially examined by Dr. Kilroy, but before being released from his care, Ms. Joseph resumed, for one day, her active work duties. Specifically, she was placed on fire or hole watch, which consisted of her holding a water hose similar in size to one carried by firemen, while watching for any sudden outbreaks of fire or flames. Ms. Joseph claimed that the water hose she was required to hold weighed as much as a gallon of milk and that, as a result of performing this duty, she suffered increased pain in her neck and shoulder, which she alleged was an exacerbation of the injuries she had previously sustained from her initial work-related accident. However, neither OLOL nor Dr. Kilroy listed any complaints of neck or shoulder pain or stiffness in their documentation of the patient's history.
In the meanwhile, on reviewing the diagnostic studies made of Ms. Joseph's back, Dr. Kilroy found no objective basis for Ms. Joseph's complaints. Nevertheless, he ordered that Ms. Joseph be maintained on a light-duty regimen for two additional weeks before fully resuming her full work duties. Ms. Joseph, disagreeing with this diagnosis by Dr. Kilroy, sought a second opinion from her family physician, Dr. Stan Mays.
Dr. Mays first examined Ms. Joseph for her alleged work-related injuries on January 26, 2000. His medical records reveal that during that initial examination, Ms. Joseph disclosed sustained stiffness in her neck and shoulder following the first accident, which elevated to actual pain following the fire-watch incident. Dr. Mays saw Ms. Joseph on one other occasion following her initial examination, at which time he referred her to a local orthopedist, Dr. Robert Nicholson, to follow-up on her complaints of pain in her lower back, neck and right shoulder.
Pursuant to Dr. Mays' referral, Ms. Joseph sought authorization to see Dr. Nicholson. Authorization was denied and Ms. Joseph filed a disputed claim for compensation based on this denia
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