Aldridge v. Southern Missouri Gas Co.

• Decision Date: 20 April 2004
• Docket Number: No. 25894.,25894.
• Parties: Paul Dean ALDRIDGE, Claimant-Respondent, v. SOUTHERN MISSOURI GAS CO., Employer-Appellant, and Missouri Insurance Guarantee Association, Insurer-Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

131 S.W.3d 876

Paul Dean ALDRIDGE, Claimant-Respondent, v. SOUTHERN MISSOURI GAS CO., Employer-Appellant, and Missouri Insurance Guarantee Association, Insurer-Appellant.

No. 25894.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Division One.

April 20, 2004.

Kevin Hays Dunaway, Neale & Newman, L.L.P., Springfield, MO, for Respondents-Appellants.

Ellen E. Morgan, Ballwin, MO, for Claimant-Respondent.

JAMES K. PREWITT, Judge.

Employer and Insurer appeal from an award of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission ("Commission") reversing the decision of the administrative law judge ("ALJ") that denied Paul Dean Aldridge's ("Claimant") claim for workers' compensation. Claimant had suffered a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and a subsequent stroke on August 31, 1999, which he claimed was a work-related injury arising out of and in the course of his employment and for which he sought permanent and total disability benefits.

Claimant, sixty-three years old at the time of his heart attack, was employed by Southern Missouri Gas in Mountain Grove and worked in "construction." As of August 12, 1999, his duties included burying service lines from the main gas line to a residence below ground level, utilizing picks, rakes and shovels. The gas service lines themselves were described as plastic tubing, 500 feet in length, rolled into coils and fastened with plastic ties. According to Claimant, handling a 500-foot coil usually required the work of two men.

On August 31, 1999, Claimant awakened around 5:00 a.m., made a pot of coffee, dressed, and drove the 33 miles from his home to Employer's office in Mountain Grove. On the job, he and another employee loaded three rolls of plastic gas line onto a company truck and drove to Ava. Claimant rode with James, a co-worker, and Riley, another co-worker, followed in another truck. The day was hot and humid.

In Ava, they finished a job they had previously started, raking rock, cleaning up the job site, and spreading grass seed and hay. They then drove to Rogersville, where the three of them ran another service line to connect gas service to a new home. This job took approximately "two, two and-a-half hours." At some time around 9:00 a.m., Claimant began to experience what he thought was indigestion and told his co-workers that he "had indigestion real bad[.]" However, he continued to work.

Upon leaving Rogersville, they drove toward Marshfield, but one of their trucks broke down and they were delayed approximately forty-five minutes offloading heavy equipment so the truck could be repaired. James left to accompany the truck for repair, while Claimant and Riley continued to Marshfield.

When the two of them arrived at the job site in Marshfield, Claimant was still feeling symptoms of indigestion, which he stated "kept gettin' a little bit worse." By himself, he unloaded three 500-foot rolls of service line and unrolled the line while his co-worker operated a trencher to bury the line below the ground.

Claimant continued to experience what he thought was indigestion, which he described "felt like somethin' on the inside was gonna bust." When he began to feel faint, Claimant told his co-worker that he was sick and needed to sit down. He went to the truck and sat inside. The last he remembered was that he poured himself a cup of coffee, which he couldn't drink, and laid down in the seat of the truck. His next memory was being airlifted by helicopter to the hospital in Springfield.

The record indicates that Claimant was driven back to Employer's office in Mountain Grove and then transported to Cabool, where he was eventually taken to Texas County Memorial Hospital. On admission to the emergency room, Claimant was stabilized and administered "TPA," which aids in dissolving clots, but subsequently caused a hemorrhagic stroke. Claimant was then airlifted to Cox Medical Center in Springfield for further treatment and care. He was hospitalized for thirty-two days.

Claimant has not been able to return to work since August 31, 1999. Claimant states that presently he lacks strength and stamina and cannot do many activities he could do prior to the heart attack and stroke. He experiences difficulty remembering things and concentrating, walks with a limp, and his balance is poor, causing him to trip and stumble often.

On May 15, 2000, the Division of Workers' Compensation received Claimant's claim for compensation requesting permanent total disability benefits for a work-related injury. Employer filed its answer to the claim for compensation on November 15, 2000, contesting Claimant's allegation that his disability resulted from an accident or occupational disease arising out of and in the course and scope of his employment.

A temporary hardship hearing was held on March 22, 2002, to determine Claimant's eligibility for benefits. Claimant and his wife appeared and testified, and the depositions of two physicians were admitted into evidence, as well as Claimant's medical records from treating physicians and hospitals. Dr. Stephen Schuman was deposed on behalf of Claimant, and Dr. Keith Mankowitz testified via deposition on behalf of Employer.

On January 16, 2003, the ALJ for the Division of Workers' Compensation, found that "the claimant's heart attack did not arise out of the course and scope of his employment," and as a result, was not compensable. The ALJ further stated that she found "Dr. Mankowitz's opinion [that the claimant's work was not a cause of claimant's heart attack and that the work or work environment was not a substantial factor in the causation of the heart attack] more convincing than Dr. Schuman."

Upon Claimant's Application for Review, filed February 5, 2003, the Commission found "that the award of the administrative law judge is not supported by competent and substantial evidence." Stating that it was "more persuaded by the opinions expressed by Dr. Schuman," the Commission further "found that [C]laimant sustained a compensable accident arising out of the course of his employment[,]" and that Claimant's work and work duties were substantial factors in causing or exacerbating the heart attack. Accordingly, the Commission reversed the decision of the ALJ, awarding Claimant payment for past medical expenses, future medical care, and permanent and total disability benefits. Employer and Insurer appeal, presenting four points relied on.

Section 287.495, RSMo provides that on appeal from a final award of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission, this court "shall review only questions of law and may modify, reverse, remand for rehearing, or set aside the award upon any of the following grounds and no other: (1) That the commission acted without or in excess of its powers; (2) That the award was procured by fraud; (3) That the facts found by the commission do not support the award; (4) That there was not sufficient, competent evidence in the record to warrant the making of the award."

Decisions which are clearly interpretations or applications of law are reviewed without deference to the Commission's judgment. Lammert v. Vess Beverages, Inc., 968 S.W.2d 720, 723 (Mo.App.1998), overruled in part on other grounds by Hampton v. Big Boy Steel Erection, 121 S.W.3d 220, 226 (Mo.banc 2003). Deference is afforded to the Commission on issues concerning credibility and weight to be given to conflicting evidence. Id. at 723.

Recently decided, Hampton v. Big Boy Steel Erection, 121 S.W.3d 220 (Mo.banc 2003), instructs us that on review, rather than viewing the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in a light most favorable to the award, "[w]hether the award is supported by competent and substantial evidence is judged by examining the evidence in the context of the whole record." Id. at 223.

On appeal from an award by the Commission, this Court reviews the findings and award of the Commission rather than those of the ALJ. Davis v. Research Med. Ctr., 903 S.W.2d 557, 569 (Mo.App.1995), overruled in part on other grounds by Hampton, 121 S.W.3d at 227. In situations where witnesses are deposed and do not testify live before the ALJ, this court defers to the Commission on matters such as witness credibility, as the Commission is just as able as the ALJ to determine credibility from the written record. Thorsen v. Sachs Elec. Co., 52 S.W.3d 611, 619 (Mo.App.2001), overruled in part on other grounds by Hampton, 121 S.W.3d at 225.

Appellants' first point states:

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission erred in finding the employee's heart attack to be work related because the Commission's decision relies upon the employee's evaluating physician's opinion (Dr. Shuman), which opinion is based upon facts not in evidence, and erroneous assumptions of fact, in that said decision is not supported by substantial and competent evidence, and should be reversed.

Appellants question the Commission's finding. Further, Appellants assign error to the Commission's finding that Claimant's heart attack was work related, "in that said decision is not supported by substantial and competent evidence[.]" Appellants contend that of the two conflicting medical opinions in evidence here, this Court should find the deposition testimony of Dr. Mankowitz more compelling, alleging a "potential for bias/prejudice from Dr. Schuman," because of his "long-standing personal and professional relationship with Claimant's counsel."

More to the point of this issue, Appellants argue that Claimant's pre-existing heart disease was the cause of the blood clot which, in turn, caused the heart attack, thereby negating a finding of work-relatedness of the heart attack. To the contrary, Dr. Schuman testified that "[i]n this case, it was the heart working harder and faster that eventually caused the clot that caused the heart attack."

Appellants also allege that Dr. Schuman's opinions are speculative and that "there is no reliable evidence that Claimant's work environment or work activities on ...