 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
DOUGLAS TOBACCO PRODS. CO. v. GERRALD12/22/1999
The parties in this workers' compensation case stipulated that appellee Betty J. Gerrald suffered a compensable back injury while working for appellant Douglas Tobacco Products on October 4, 1994. Subsequent to the injury, she was assigned a 13% permanent partial impairment rating to the body as a whole. The issues before the Workers' Compensation Commission were the extent of any wage-loss disability and, if any disability benefits were awarded, whether appellee Second Injury Fund was liable. After a hearing, the Commission found that Ms. Gerrald was entitled to 50% wage-loss disability benefits, and that Second Injury Fund had no liability. Douglas Tobacco Products now appeals, arguing that the Commission erred in not apportioning liability to the Second Injury Fund, and in finding that Ms. Gerrald had sustained a 50% wage-loss disability. Ms. Gerrald cross-appeals, contending that she is permanently and totally disabled and that the Commission erred in limiting her wage-loss benefits to only 50%. We affirm the award for 50% wage-loss disability, but reverse the Commission's decision that found the Second Injury Fund without liability.
When reviewing decisions from the Workers' Compensation Commission, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commission's findings and affirm if supported by substantial evidence. Welch's Laundry & Cleaners v. Clark, 38 Ark. App. 223, 832 S.W.2d 283 (1992). Substantial evidence is that which a reasonable person might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. City of Fort Smith v. Brooks, 40 Ark. App. 120, 842 S.W.2d 463 (1992). A decision by the Workers' Compensation Commission should not be reversed unless it is clear that fair-minded persons could not have reached
the same conclusions if presented with the same facts. Silvicraft, Inc. v. Lambert, 10 Ark. App. 28, 661 S.W.2d 403 (1983).
At the hearing before the Commission, Ms. Gerrald testified that she began full-time employment for Douglas Tobacco Products in 1972. Her duties included driving to various stores and stocking cigarettes, candy, and other products. Ms. Gerrald testified that her job required squatting, bending, stooping, and lifting.
Ms. Gerrald stated that, on October 4, 1994, she was lifting soft drinks from the floorboard of her car when she injured her back. She went to the doctor the next day, and eventually came under the care of Dr. Tom Fletcher. Dr. Fletcher performed surgeries at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels, and, according to Ms. Gerrald, her condition worsened after the surgeries. She stated that she has been unable to work since the date of her compensable injury , and that although she loved her job and wanted to return to work, her physical condition prevented her from doing so. She testified:
Some mornings I can't get out of bed. Some mornings I can't walk. Sometimes I get in a chair and I can't get out of the chair. Out of a typical week, this happens to me three or four days of the week. Some weeks I can't get out of the house all week, and some weeks I can get out three or four days. You never know when you wake up in the morning.
On cross-examination, Ms. Gerrald acknowledged that she had a similar episode in 1990 when she reached to pick up a book out of her car, twisted, and hurt her back. As a result of that incident, she was in the hospital for seven or eight days, but then returned to work. Then, in 1992, she slipped on a wet floor and suffered further difficulty with her back. However, after presenting to the doctor following the 1992 incident, Ms. Gerrald recalled missing no work and could not remember being placed on any physical restrictions.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Arkansas Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|