 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Ponder v. GMAC Mortgage Corp.12/31/2004
DECISION OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
These two (2) matters are before the Appellate Division on the respondent/employer's appeals from adverse decisions rendered by the trial judge. W.C.C. No. 97-06134 is an Original Petition filed by the employee which alleges that he sustained an injury to his back and right leg on May 6, 1997 during the course of his employment which resulted in partial incapacity from that date and continuing. The trial judge granted this petition with the finding that the employee was disabled from May 7, 1997 to January 29, 1998. The employer has appealed, arguing that the employee was not disabled for such a lengthy period. After careful review of the record, we agree and reverse the trial judge with regard to the length of the period of disability.
W.C.C. No. 99-03199 is the employee's petition requesting permission for major surgery. The trial judge granted this petition and the employer appealed. We affirm the trial judge's decision and deny the employer's appeal regarding this petition.
On May 6, 1997, the employee was working at the Cranston, Rhode Island office of GMAC Mortgage as a mortgage originator for residential mortgages. He explained that his job involved processing mortgage applications which he obtained either through direct calls from customers or through referrals from real estate brokers. He would generally meet with customers in the office, but occasionally would go to their homes. Processing a mortgage application completely took between three (3) to four (4) hours. He also made visits to local real estate offices, particularly in Coventry and Cranston, in order to solicit business for GMAC.
During the afternoon of May 6, 1997, he and his co-workers were helping another GMAC employee move into a new office within the same building. The employee admitted that moving furniture was not part of his job duties and that he assisted in the move voluntarily, not under the direction of his supervisor. By the end of the day, his back was bothering him somewhat. The next morning, he was unable to get out of bed due to severe back pain radiating down his right leg. He did go to the office that day and notified his supervisor that he had been injured while moving furniture in the office the day before. He eventually went to a walk-in clinic on May 11, 1997 and followed up there on several occasions.
At some point after the incident, the employee stopped working entirely for about four (4) months, although he could not recall the exact dates. The employee testified that at the end of the four (4) month period, he returned to work at GMAC, but was unable to resume the number of visits to real estate offices he had done previously because driving for any length of time aggravated the back pain. The employee testified that he felt it was unsafe for him to drive after taking Vicodin and Neurontin, which had been prescribed for pain relief. He indicated that he also had problems sitting for long periods of time at his desk at work and would go home and rest for a few hours if the pain became too much and then return to the office later. Because he felt unsafe to drive while on pain medication, he was unable to re-establish and maintain as many contacts in real estate offices as previously, and, therefore, his ability to earn was reduced after the injury .
Also testifying at the trial were Willy Thomas and Lynn LaFontaine, co-workers of the employee, who were present on the day the alleged injury occurred, and Janet Bausch, the employee's supervisor. Mr. Thomas corroborated the employee's testimony regarding the moving of the furniture and also stated that it appeared that the employee was in pain the next day. In th
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rhode Island Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|