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Norris v. Coastal Transport5/3/2005
An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Defendants Coastal Transport and Protective Insurance Company appeal the decision of the North Carolina Industrial Commission awarding temporary and permanent partial disability benefits to plaintiff Stanley Norris for a herniated disc in his lumbar spine. Because the record contains no evidence supporting the Commission's finding of causation, we reverse.
Facts
Plaintiff began his employment as an over-the-road truckdriver for defendant Coastal Transport in August 1998. On 9 November 1998, plaintiff drove a flatbed trailer to Kingstree, South Carolina to pick up a load. While he was rolling back the tarps used to secure the load on his trailer bed, his left leg caught between two rolls of tarp. Plaintiff described what happened next:
I fell around and . . . spun around to the right, and I felt something burn in my back. I didn't really think nothing about it because I had been having a kidney stone problem for two or three days, and the symptoms I was having _ I did feel my back burn and sting, but you're all the time getting bumps and bruises doing what we do. . . . And with the problem and the pain that I had had with my stones, I really didn't pay any attention to it . . . .
Plaintiff described the pain as "a real bad burning, stinging sensation in my lower back. That was the only thing that I felt, but at the same time, I had pulled muscles before, so I didn't really think anything about that either." As the day progressed, however, the pain worsened until plaintiff had difficulty operating the truck's brakes and clutch. The following day, plaintiff contacted his dispatcher at Coastal and asked to be rerouted back to North Carolina, believing he "was having a kidney stone problem." After receiving authorization, he returned home.
Medical records during the remainder of 1998 do not mention any back pain. On 18 November 1998, plaintiff went to the emergency room of Good Hope Hospital because of a migraine headache. On 24 November 1998, plaintiff presented to his physician, Dr. Abraham Oudeh, with "headache associated with nauseaand vomiting." On 17 December 1998, Dr. Oudeh noted the possibility of a kidney stone based on frequency, urgency, and pressure in the lower abdomen. Plaintiff returned to Dr. Oudeh on 4 January 1999, complaining of "abdominal pain." An X-ray and ultrasound on 5 January 1999 were negative for kidney stones.
On 21 January 1999, plaintiff presented to Dr. Oudeh with "pain in lower abdomen left side, left testicle, down into left leg foot 2 weeks." An x-ray of plaintiff's lumbar spine taken on 21 January 1999 revealed "normal alignment" with "well preserved" intervertebral disc spaces and vertebral body heights and no other abnormalities. On 5 February 1999, Dr. Oudeh diagnosed " ack pain secondary to kidney stone."
Dr. Oudeh referred plaintiff to Dr. H. Willy Chu, who examined him on 16 February 1999. Based on plaintiff's report of a "two week history" of severe groin pain with no precipitating incident, Dr. Chu diagnosed a left inguinal hernia and scheduled surgery to repair it. On the day of the scheduled surgery, Dr. Chu re- examined plaintiff and found no evidence of a hernia. In light of plaintiff's complaint of "pain along the back of his left leg" and "pins and needles on the lateral aspect of his left foot," Dr. Chu ordered physical therapy and referred plaintiff to orthopaedist Dr. William Y. Oh.
Page 1 2 3 4 North Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
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