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Wix Corp. v. Davis9/16/2005
1989 or 1990. The first symptom he noticed was dizziness that would come about when he rose to get out of a chair or out of his automobile, or when he became overheated at work or while climbing at work.
Sometime in 1990, Davis alleges that he was demoted to an "entry- level position." Davis testified that he felt stress associated with his employment following the demotion as a result of the demotion itself and as a result of the reduced pay and the sales quotas associated therewith. In 1991, Davis was referred to Dr. Jerry Chandler, a cardiologist, because of chest pain and an abnormal treadmill exercise test. Dr. Chandler performed a cardiac catheterization at that time, which showed a blockage in three of Davis's major coronary arteries. Dr. Chandler testified that, typically, he would expect arterial blockages such as those revealed by the catheterization on Davis in 1991 to grow over time. He also testified that he told Davis's referring physician at that time that Davis "was very likely to require coronary artery bypass graft at some point in the future." Despite this prognosis, Dr. Chandler found it appropriate, and Davis elected, to pursue medical therapy rather than surgery at that time.
On September 20, 1996, Davis was working at a distributor's warehouse performing an inventory return in the course of his employment with Wix. Davis testified that he was climbing to access some lightweight filters located on a shelf some 8 to 10 feet above floor level when he began to feel dizzy, blacked out and fell, and suffered injuries to his knee, back, and mouth.
Upon admission to the hospital for treatment of the injuries to his knee, back, and mouth, Dr. Chandler's partner, Dr. John Egan, Jr., examined Davis and performed an arteriogram. This test showed that the blockage in the three arteries that had been revealed by the catheterization in 1991 had progressed and had become severe enough to warrant bypass surgery, which subsequently was performed. Davis did not suffer a myocardial infarction, or a heart attack, during the events of September 20, 1996, and Dr. Chandler testified that the bypass Davis underwent while in the hospital being treated for his physical injuries could be considered "elective" in nature.
Davis's treating physician, Dr. Chandler, testified that " ypothetically, in theory" Davis's temporary loss of consciousness and resulting fall on September 20, 1996, "could have been related to his heart." In other words, there is evidence indicating that Davis's heart condition could possibly have been a contributing cause of his fall and resulting physical injuries. This testimony, however, obviously does not amount to evidence indicating that the fall and resulting physical injuries contributed to Davis's heart condition.
Elsewhere in his deposition, Dr. Chandler testified that Davis's activity in climbing one or two steps in reaching above his head to manipulate relatively light objects on a shelf approximately eight feet off the ground would be the type of activity for which the doctor "would expect [Davis] to have a poor exercise tolerance or poor endurance ... because of the use of the upper body." Dr. Chandler went on to opine that "if that [activity] raised [Davis's] blood pressure or caused constriction of the blood vessels which decreased blood flow to the heart, he could have become weak or short of breath or conceivably have irregular heart rhythm." When asked if this in turn could have had an effect on Davis's condition, or could have caused Davis to "briefly pass out or lose focus or conscious[ness]," Dr. Chandler answered, "possibly." Again, this is evidence indicating that Davis's heart condition "possibly" could have led to the
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