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Richards v. Town of Valdese12/6/1988
specific traumatic incidents; however, we believe that events which occur contemporaneously, during a cognizable time period, and which cause a back injury, do fit the definition intended by the legislature. Cf. id. (where trauma or injury must not have developed gradually, but at a cognizable time).
Richards presented evidence which showed that over a period of ten to fifteen hours, he repeatedly had to jump on and off of fire trucks while fighting the fires of 4 April 1985. He normally fights single, stationary fires which do not require this repeated jumping on and off of the fire trucks.
Richards also presented evidence that he wore full fire gear for approximately nine continuous hours on 4 April 1985. He normally does not have to wear his gear that long. Wearing this full gear could also have exacerbated the effect of jumping on and off the fire trucks.
Richards can point to no specific instant in time when his back began to hurt. He can, however, point to a series of contemporaneous events which could have caused his injury .
On remand, the Commission must make findings based on the evidence, and it must make conclusions of law supported by those findings and consistent with legal precedent. See Roach, 88 N.C. App. 271, 362 S.E.2d 823 (1987). We vacate the Commission's 15 January 1988 order and remand the case to the Full Commission for their determination of whether Richards' repeated jumping on and off of the fire trucks in full gear was the "specific traumatic incident" responsible for his injury .
Vacated and remanded.
Disposition
Vacated and remanded.
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