Baker v. Orange County Bd. of County Com'rs
| Citation | 399 So.2d 400 |
| Decision Date | 01 June 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. WW-42,WW-42 |
| Parties | Vilous BAKER, Appellant, v. ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, and Gallager Bassett InsuranceService, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Gary Doane, of Whitaker & Koepke, Orlando, for appellant.
James B. Cantrell, Orlando, for appellees.
Claimant appeals a workers' compensation order denying his claim for benefits. We disagree with the deputy's conclusion that the cause of claimant's injury "was extraneous to the employment," with no "contributing employment condition or circumstance," and reverse the order appealed.
The claimant is a road-grader operator whose work requires exposure to the weather. Because of a diabetic condition, claimant has a diminished sensitivity in his feet. After losing a portion of his big toe due to an employment-related frostbite, claimant was advised by his physician to take precautions against further exposure to the cold, and expressly instructed to keep his feet warm. As his employer was aware, claimant subsequently began wearing battery operated socks in extremely cold weather. While wearing such socks in February of 1979, claimant sustained severe burns on the bottom of his feet, resulting in gangrene and requiring the amputation of a portion of one foot. The evidence clearly showed that the burns were occasioned by the wearing of the electrical socks, but did not specifically establish that the heating mechanism had malfunctioned. Although claimant was outdoors during only a portion of the day of his injury, the weather was so severe as to require his wearing thermal underwear, insulated coveralls, his regular work clothes, and a jacket as well as the electrical socks.
The time, place, and circumstances of claimant's injury establish that it occurred in the course of employment, and the issue on appeal is whether it arose out of the employment. In this regard, to be compensable the injury must have originated in some work connected with the employment, or have occurred as a natural consequence of the employment; i. e., there must be a contributing employment cause. See Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co. v. McCook, 355 So.2d 1166 (Fla.1977); Suniland Toys and Juvenile Furniture, Inc. v. Karnes, 148 So.2d 523 (Fla.1963). However, compensability is not defeated by the fact that an injury is sustained while an employee is furthering his personal comfort. See Cunningham v. Scotty...
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Sedgwick CMS v. Valcourt-Williams
...by automobile while walking across road to purchase cigarettes on break during work hours compensable); Baker v. Orange Cty. Bd. of Cty. Comm'rs , 399 So.2d 400 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981) (injury from battery operated socks claimant wore to ward off frostbite compensable).Other states have conside......
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Bryant v. David Lawrence Mental Health Center
...is satisfied by evidence that the injury originated in some work connected with the employment. See Baker v. Orange County Board of County Commissioners, 399 So.2d 400, 401 (Fla. 1st DCA), petition for review denied mem., 411 So.2d 383 (Fla.1981). "That is, the claimant must show that his i......
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Silberberg v. Palm Beach Cnty. Sch. Bd.
...by the employer, or whether the equipment or object was necessary for the employee to do his job. See Baker v. Orange Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs , 399 So. 2d 400, 401 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981) (holding that injury arose out of employment when it stemmed from employee-provided equipment (electric ......
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Silberberg v. Palm Beach Cnty. Sch. Bd.
...The employee may also sit at work from time to time for comfort or rest to facilitate his accomplishing of his work effectively. Cf. Baker, 399 So.2d at 401 (observing that employer's interest may reasonably be regarded as furthered by increased productivity from personal comfort activity")......