Fritts v. Safety Nat. Cas. Corp.

• Decision Date: 21 April 2005
• Citation: 163 S.W.3d 673
• Parties: Connie Frances FRITTS v. SAFETY NATIONAL CASUALTY CORP.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

163 S.W.3d 673

Connie Frances FRITTS v. SAFETY NATIONAL CASUALTY CORP.

Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Knoxville.

January 4, 2005 Session.

April 21, 2005.

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Peter J. Alliman, Madisonville, Tennessee, for the Plaintiff-Appellant, Connie Frances Fritts.

Kent Thomas Jones, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Defendant-Appellee, Safety National Casualty Corp.

OPINION

JANICE M. HOLDER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which FRANK F. DROWOTA, III, C.J., and E. RILEY ANDERSON and ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., JJ., joined. WILLIAM M. BARKER, J., not participating.

The employee in this workers' compensation case suffered a spontaneous and large right-lung pneumothorax while at work. The pneumothorax required two corrective surgeries and resulted in treatment with narcotics for chronic pain. After a careful review of the record, we conclude that the injury sustained was an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of her employment. We further hold that the evidence supports the trial court's finding that the employee was totally and permanently disabled. We affirm the trial court's judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Connie Fritts was thirty-nine years old at the time of trial. She completed eight years of education and has no special job training or skills. Her employment history includes working as a presser and clipper in a sewing factory, as a cashier, and as a tobacco cutter. She also has performed odd jobs such as cleaning houses and mowing yards. In 1998, Mrs. Fritts was employed by Athens Furniture ("Athens") where she worked in the roll-coat room performing tasks such as hand-sanding, spraying varnish, and operating the wide belt and buffer. Mrs. Fritts was a long-time smoker and had pre-existing bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD"). She experienced a small left-lung pneumothorax¹ in 1993 and again in 1995, both of which healed without surgical treatment. On September 15, 2000, Mrs. Fritts suffered a large, right-lung pneumothorax while working at Athens. At the time of her injury, Mrs. Fritts was in good health and had no limitations on her work or personal activities. The defendant, Safety National Casualty Corporation ("Safety National"), was the workers' compensation insurer for Athens in 2000. The plant closed in 2001.

On the day of the injury, Mrs. Fritts was spraying varnish in the roll-coat room. Mrs. Fritts and her co-worker, Barbara Tuttle, testified that the room was unusually dusty, with sawdust, fumes, and varnish spray in the air. Ms. Tuttle and Misty Hamilton were working with Mrs. Fritts when she bent over and began to cough. Mrs. Fritts testified that the fumes and dust caused her to start "coughing real bad," that she could not breathe, and that the "whole right side" of her chest was hurting. Her husband, Bennie Fritts, and the "lead person," Roger Dale Williams, took Mrs. Fritts outdoors. Mr. Fritts and Mr. Williams then notified Ronnie Kennedy, a supervisor, of the coughing incident.

Mrs. Fritts continued to experience severe pain and breathing difficulties. During an emergency room visit on September 17, 2000, she was diagnosed with a large right-lung pneumothorax, and a chest tube was inserted. The chest tube, however, failed to keep her lung properly inflated. On September 26, 2000, a surgical procedure was performed to reattach her lung to the chest wall. This procedure resulted in granulomatous pleurisy and scarring, causing severe pain and continued breathing problems. Mrs. Fritts underwent a second surgery in March 2001 to keep her right lung inflated and to repair the damage from the first surgery. Mrs. Fritts continued to suffer chronic pain and breathing difficulties. She was prescribed two narcotic drugs, OxyContin and Endocet, and a non-narcotic pain medication, Neurontin, all of which she was using at the time of trial.

Three physicians testified by deposition. Although portions of their testimony conflicted, all three physicians agreed that Mrs. Fritts was predisposed to a pneumothorax due to her COPD and earlier pneumothoraxes and that smoking was an underlying factor in causing her 2000 right-lung collapse. Dr. Charles Cox testified that the coughing episode could have caused the pneumothorax. Dr. William Bailey testified that the work environment led to the coughing that caused the pneumothorax. Dr. John McElligott testified that the pneumothorax was not related to her work and was caused by smoking.

The trial court credited the testimony of Dr. Cox and Dr. Bailey and found that Mrs. Fritts suffered a compensable injury by accident arising out of and in the course of her employment. The trial court ruled that Mrs. Fritts developed pleurisy as a complication and result of her injury, that she is permanently and totally disabled, and that the employer had proper notice of the injury.²

The insurer appealed, arguing that the injury was not causally related to the employment. The insurer also contends that the trial court should have analyzed this case as an occupational disease rather than as an injury by accident and that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of total and permanent disability. The case was referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel ("Panel") pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-225(e)(3) (Supp.2003). The Panel reversed and dismissed, finding that the employee was suffering from a pre-existing disease caused primarily by smoking, that there was no anatomical or physiological change in her pre-existing condition, and that under the occupational disease statute the employee's condition did not "originate and arise out of" her employment. We granted full court review.

I. Compensable Injury

To be compensable, an injury or occupational disease must arise out of and in the course of employment and cause either disablement or death. Tenn.Code Ann. § 50-6-102(12) (1999). The phrase "in the course of" refers to the time, place, and circumstances of the injury, and "arising out of" refers to its cause or origin. Hill v. Eagle Bend Mfg., Inc., 942 S.W.2d 483, 487 (Tenn.1997). Thus, an accidental injury arises out of and is in the course of employment if it has a rational connection to the employment and occurs while the employee is doing the work she was employed to perform. Guess v. Sharp Mfg. Co. of Am., 114 S.W.3d 480, 484 (Tenn. 2003). The employee in a workers' compensation suit bears the burden of proving every element of the case by a preponderance of the evidence, including the existence of a work-related injury by accident. Talley v. Va. Ins. Reciprocal, 775 S.W.2d 587, 591 (Tenn.1989).

A. Course of Employment

Mrs. Fritts, Ms. Tuttle, and Ms. Hamilton testified they were working in the roll-coat room when Mrs. Fritts had a "bad" coughing episode followed immediately by pain in her right chest and breathing problems. Ronnie Kennedy, a former lead person and supervisor at Athens, testified that he was present during Mrs. Fritts' shift on September 15, 2000, but denied being told that Mrs. Fritts had a coughing spell at work. Mr. Kennedy stated that Bennie Fritts told him the following Monday that Mrs. Fritts' lung collapsed when she fell off the porch at home.

The trial court specifically found that Mr. Kennedy was not a credible witness and instead credited the testimony of Mrs. Fritts, Ms. Tuttle, Ms. Hamilton, and, inferentially, Bennie Fritts. When issues of credibility of witnesses and the weight to be given their in-court testimony are before the reviewing court, considerable deference must be accorded to the factual findings of the trial court. Richards v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 70 S.W.3d 729, 733 (Tenn.2002); see Rhodes v. Capital City Ins. Co., 154 S.W.3d 43, 46 (Tenn.2004) (holding that the trial court's findings with respect to credibility and weight of the evidence may generally be inferred from the manner in which the court resolves conflicts in the testimony and decides the case). The trial court found that this injury occurred in the course of Mrs. Fritts' employment, and the evidence does not preponderate against this finding.

B. Arising Out Of

To be compensable, the injury also must have its cause or origin in the workplace. Tenn.Code Ann. § 50-6-102(12) (1999). An accidental injury arises out of employment when there is a causal connection between the working conditions and the resulting injury. Phillips v. A & H Constr. Co., 134 S.W.3d 145, 150 (Tenn. 2004). Mrs. Fritts, Ms. Tuttle, and Ms. Hamilton testified that the room in which they were working was filled with dust, fumes, and "strong" varnish spray. During their shift, Mrs. Fritts began coughing and experiencing right chest pain and breathing problems requiring her to go outdoors. Mr. Kennedy agreed that it was not unusual for dust and spray to be present in the roll-coat room.

In most cases of work-related injury, causation must be established by expert medical evidence. Tindall v. Waring Park Ass'n, 725 S.W.2d 935, 937 (Tenn.1987). However, absolute certainty in the medical evidence is not required since expert opinion by its very nature is always more or less uncertain and speculative. See Chapman v. Employers Ins. Co. of Ala., 627 S.W.2d 122, 123 (Tenn.1981). Acknowledging the imprecision and uncertainty of medical proof of causation, any reasonable doubt must be construed in favor of the employee. White v. Werthan Indus., 824 S.W.2d 158, 159 (Tenn.1992). Benefits may properly be awarded upon medical testimony that shows the employment "could or might have been the cause" of the employee's injury when there is lay testimony from which causation reasonably can be inferred. Clark v. Nashville Mach. Elevator Co., 129 S.W.3d 42, 47 (Tenn. 2004).

All three physicians testified that smoking and COPD were underlying causes of the pneumothorax. Dr. Cox, a surgeon who treated Mrs. Fritts in the emergency ...