 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Williams v. Wal-Mart Stores9/28/2001
This workers' compensation action is before us on appeal from a judgment in favor of claimant, Scott Williams, and against his em ployer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Scott Williams was an employee of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in Bogalusa, Louisiana. On November 19, 1998, Mr. Williams was decorating a display on an end-cap in the automotive department of the store when his arm bumped the sidekick on the shelf causing it to come loose. As the sidekick began to fall, Mr. Williams noticed a customer coming down the aisle in a wheelchair. Mr. Williams reached out to grab the sidekick and pull it away from the customer. Mr. Williams described the incident as follows:
I caught it. And after I caught it with my lower left hand first and then my right hand was on it, it slipped from my right hand. So I had to overextend to catch it again because the top was going towards the customer. And then when my hand got on it the second time, my right hand, I pulled it back toward me. And when that happened, it fell on top of me.
Charles Varnado, who was working the cash register in the automotive department at the time in question, testified about his recollection of the accident. Just prior to the accident, Mr. Varnado was helping a customer at the cash register and Mr. Williams was sitting on the floor working on the end-cap. Mr. Varnado heard a noise and looked up to see the sidekick falling at the end of the aisle where Mr. Williams was working. According to Mr. Varnado, Mr. Williams reached out with his left hand to catch the sidekick to prevent it from falling to the ground and possibly striking a nearby customer.
Initially following the accident, Mr. Williams complained only about pain in his left arm. He sought treatment at Bogalusa Medical Center later that night, and his arm was placed in a splint. When he returned to work the following day, Mr. Williams was assigned to light-duty work, running the cash register in the automotive department, which he continued doing for approximately ten days.
On November 29, 1998, Mr. Williams was seen in the emergency room of Washington-St. Tammany Regional Medical Center with complaints of sudden onset of right flank pain. Mr. Williams was diagnosed with kidney stones. When his back pain worsened, Mr. Williams returned to Washington-St. Tammany Regional Medical Center with complaints of low back pain radiating into his legs. He was admitted to the hospital for treatment by a neurologist, Dr. Amartyadeb Goswami, who scheduled Mr. Williams for an emergency MRI. The test did not reveal any disc protrusions. Mr. Williams was subsequently discharged from the hospital, only to return approximately two weeks later with similar complaints of back pain. A repeat MRI was done at this time, the results of which were inconclusive. Mr. Williams was then referred to a neurosurgeon and ultimately underwent two separate surgeries on the L5-S1 disc. According to Dr. Goswami, Mr. Williams' low back injury was related to the November 19, 1998 incident.
When Mr. Williams initially reported the accident to his manager, he made no complaints of back pain. However, Mr. Williams began suffering from low back pain about a week later. He subsequently learned that his back pain was not associated with kidney stones. Thus, on December 30, 1998, Mr. Williams completed a form entitled "ASSOCIATE STATEMENT - WORKERS COMPENSATION" in which he indicated he had injured both his left wrist and his low back in the incident on November 19, 1998.
On March 23, 1999, Mr. Williams filed a Disputed Claim For Compensation alleging a work-related injury to his wris
Page 1 2 3 4 Louisiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|