Amick v. National Bottle, 83-545-A
| Decision Date | 30 April 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-545-A,83-545-A |
| Citation | 507 A.2d 1352 |
| Parties | Thadeus AMICK v. NATIONAL BOTTLE. ppeal. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
O P I N I O N
This case involves an appeal by Thadeus Amick (employee) challenging a determination by the Workers' Compensation Commission that he is not entitled to receive payment for reasonable medical services from National Bottle (employer). The sole issue propounded before us originated from the following facts.
The record divulges that the employee has had a history of chronic back problems. Sometime in October or November of 1979, the employee injured his back at home while attempting to lift a heavy sump pump in the cellar.
In January of 1980, the employee sustained further back injuries on two occasions during the course of his employment as a maintenance man at National Bottle. As a result of these physical mishaps, the employee underwent corrective surgery for a herniated-disc condition. Thereafter, on April 17, 1980, the employee and the employer entered into a preliminary agreement for workers' compensation. A review of this particular document indicates that the employee became incapacitated on January 11, 1980 due to a "back injury, pulled muscle" that he incurred on the previous day, January 10.
Approximately two years later, on January 5, 1982, the employee, who was still incapacitated and receiving workers' compensation, suffered yet another fall when he slipped on the stairs outside his home. The medical records disclose that while the employee was descending the steps, his left leg failed, causing him to plummet downward and injure his back, neck, left hip, and both wrists. The following week he experienced pain and numbness in his upper chest that extended into his right shoulder and right arm. In addition, he had trouble coordinating the operation of his fingers on his right hand.
At this juncture, the employee became increasingly depressed over his inability to cope with and overcome his physical incapacity. In an effort to resolve this problem, the employee went to see Dr. Bruno Franek, a psychiatrist, on January 26, 1982. According to Dr. Franek, the employee was suffering from acute and agitated depression that was directly attributable to the aforementioned physical traumas. In conjunction with this observation, Dr. Franek indicated that the employee felt useless because he was unable to support his family. During this initial visit, the employee admitted to having entertained suicidal ideations, and in one instance he had actually instituted preparations to kill himself.
Following this encounter, the employee, in accordance with Dr. Franek's recommendation, was admitted to the Psychiatric Care Unit of Kent County Hospital on January 29, 1982. He remained hospitalized until his discharge on February 10, 1982. Once the employee left the hospital, he met with Dr. Franek on two more occasions, the last visit occurring on March 11, 1982.
On June 1, 1982, the employee petitioned the Workers' Compensation Commission to review the preliminary agreement with National Bottle, alleging that the employer had refused to pay for the costs of his psychiatric counseling and care as outlined above....
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Trombley v. City of Warwick Board of Public Saftey, KC 01-0035 (R.I. Super 1/11/2007)
...Newport, 706 A.2d 1354 (R.I. 1998) (employee must prove that an incapacity was directly and exclusively work-related); Amick v. National Bottle, 507 A.2d 1352 (R.I. 1986) (employee must demonstrate that the cause of his depression was exclusively work-related); Seitz v. L & R Industries, In......