Distinctive Builders of Panama City, Inc. v. Walker, BT-149

• Decision Date: 12 January 1988
• Docket Number: No. BT-149,BT-149
• Citation: 13 Fla. L. Weekly 169,518 So.2d 1351
• Parties: 13 Fla. L. Weekly 169 DISTINCTIVE BUILDERS OF PANAMA CITY, INC., and Nationwide Ins. Co., Appellants, v. Stanley Wayne WALKER, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1351

518 So.2d 1351

13 Fla. L. Weekly 169

DISTINCTIVE BUILDERS OF PANAMA CITY, INC., and Nationwide Ins. Co., Appellants, v. Stanley Wayne WALKER, Appellee.

No. BT-149.

District Court of Appeal of Florida First District.

Jan. 12, 1988.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 22, 1988.

Jeffrey A. Cramer, Pensacola, for appellants.

John D.C. Newton, II, James C. Adkins, and Leonard A. Carson, of Carson & Linn, Tallahassee, for appellee.

WENTWORTH, Judge.

Appellants, the employer/carrier, seek review of a workers' compensation order by which they were ordered to pay temporary total and temporary partial disability benefits, and medical bills, and to furnish future medical care and treatment to appellee, a self-employed building contractor. Appellants contend the deputy commissioner erred in finding that appellee sustained a compensable injury arising out of his employment, and argue that the injury resulted instead from an idiopathic condition. We find the record medical evidence supports the deputy's finding that appellee's injury arose out of his employment, and affirm the order, which reads in part:

While seated at his desk in his office on September 3, 1985, the Claimant turned to his left and reached for a set of blueprints pigeon-holed nearby. In the process, he twisted his upper body while at the same moment, he reached out for the plans. He experienced excrutiating [sic] pain and became paralyzed from the neck down. He tried to run his chair around but could not move ... He remained this way for 45 minutes until his wife found him. An ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital where he was seen by Dr. Douglas Stringer, a physician specializing in neurosurgery.

Under the supervision of Dr. Stringer, tests were performed which were not particularly helpful in the ultimate diagnosis. Dr. Michael Walker, a neurologist, was brought in for consultation. Based on his examination of the Claimant, tests results, and history, Dr. Walker thought the Claimant had sustained a traumatic contusion of the spinal cord when he reached for the set of plans at work. According to Dr. Walker, the Claimant has been severely impaired since. By December 3, 1986, he was able to do some very light work on a limited basis. By January 14, 1986, the Claimant was able to ambulate with the aid of a cane. Dr. Walker testified that spinal cord injuries are slow to heal and it may take two years before the Claimant will know the extent of his permanent impairment, if any.

Following hospitalization in Panama City, he was transferred to Shand's Teaching Hospital in Gainesville. In Gainesville, the Claimant was seen by another Dr. Walker who did not think that Claimant's problems were vascular in origin. His initial diagnosis was acute quadripareses--etiology unknown. A MRI of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spinal cords were within normal limits which helped Dr. Robert Walker rule out vascular anomalies or extrinsic compression unappreciated on the myelogram. His final diagnosis was acute transverse myelitis which seemed to be resolving.

The Claimant does not have a history of back pain or serious back trouble. A CT scan, myelogram, and a MRI of his back failed to show any defect after the surgery. The Claimant does smoke three packs of cigarettes a day and experienced severe left sided headaches beginning five years before his injury.

Dr. Axley, a neurologist practicing in Pensacola, reviewed the reports and deposition of Dr. Michael Walker and came to the conclusion that the Claimant's quadripareses was caused by the cut-off blood supply to his cervical spine when he stretched for the plans at work. He was less inclined to believe the injury was caused by a sudden protrusion of the cervical disc which thereafter returned to normal. This was referred to as the "karate chop" theory. According to Dr. Axley, if the paralysis was caused by a momentary loss of blood supply, the underlining [sic] vascular deficiency was probably pre-existing.

Considering Dr. Michael Walker's familiarity with the Claimant and the history of the events surrounding the onset of the symptoms, his opinions are accepted as controlling when in conflict with the other physicians who testified.

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Having adopted Dr. Michael Walker's opinions regarding causation, the Claimant in this case did not have a...