Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co. v. Bristol
| Decision Date | 28 September 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. 33822,33822 |
| Citation | 248 S.E.2d 661,242 Ga. 287 |
| Parties | HARTFORD ACCIDENT & INDEMNITY COMPANY et al. v. BRISTOL. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Blackburn, Bright & Dodd, J. Converse Bright, Valdosta, for appellants.
Dane Perkins, Nashville, for appellee.
Certiorari was granted to resolve the conflict between Brown v. Gulf Ins. Co., 141 Ga.App. 819, 234 S.E.2d 552 (1977), and Hartford Acc. etc. Co. v. Bristol, 145 Ga.App. 796, 245 S.E.2d 7 (1978).
Code Ann. § 114-709, as amended in 1968 and as applicable in the present case, provides in relevant part that "Notwithstanding any court decisions previously rendered construing this section, 'change in condition,' as used herein insofar as it relates to section(s) 114-404 and 114-405 shall mean solely an economic change in condition occasioned by the employee's . . . inability to work or continue to work for (the) same or any other employer, which inability is proximately caused by the accidental injury." See Ga.L.1978, pp. 2220, 2233, for the amendment to § 114-709 that was effective July 1, 1978.
The statutory test for "change in condition" under Code Ann. § 114-709, as amended in 1968, is "economic condition" proximately caused by previous accidental injury rather than medical or physical condition. Jenkins Enterprises v. Williams, 122 Ga.App. 840, 178 S.E.2d 926 (1970). "Thus, even though a claimant's physical condition may have remained unchanged, a change in his earning capacity predicated upon the accidental injury is considered a change in condition." Miller v. Argonaut Ins. Co., 136 Ga.App. 101, 220 S.E.2d 89 (1975). Therefore, the cases of Roland v. Cotton States Mut. Ins. Co., 133 Ga.App. 442, 211 S.E.2d 395 (1974), Miller v. Argonaut Ins. Co., supra, and Brown v. Gulf Ins. Co., 141 Ga.App. 819, 234 S.E.2d 552 (1977), are specifically disapproved and will not be followed to the extent that they say or hold that a claimant must show during a proceeding brought under Code Ann. § 114-709, as amended in 1968, that his medical or physical condition has "changed for the worse."
In the present case the claimant sustained a compensated back injury. After medical treatment, he returned to work with the same employer, performing less strenuous duties. Thereafter, he was laid off after his employer no longer had any work for any of his employees, including the claimant. He was required by Code Ann. § 114-709, as amended in 1968, to show that his inability to secure suitable employment elsewhere was proximately caused by his previous accidental injury. To the extent that the decisions of the Court of Appeals in Hartford Acc. etc. Co. v. Bristol, 145 Ga.App. 796, 245 S.E.2d 7 (1978) and in St. Paul Fire etc. Ins. Co....
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Cornell-Young (Macon Pre-Stressed Concrete Co.) v. Minter
...a change in condition for the better.' Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Archer, 108 Ga.App. 563, 564, 134 S.E.2d 204." Hartford Accident, etc., Co. v. Bristol, 242 Ga. 287, 248 S.E.2d 661 is a case closely on point, although we note it was decided based on the law prior to 1978. Under the circumsta......
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Georgia Pacific Corp. v. Wilson
...then a change in economic condition, i.e., earning capacity, constitutes a "change in condition." Hartford Accident, etc., Co. v. Bristol, 242 Ga. 287, 248 S.E.2d 661 (1978). Where the change in condition is sought by the employer, the employer has the burden of proof. Commercial Union Ins.......
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McEver v. Worrell Enterprises
...employment following termination." Maloney, supra at 828, 462 S.E.2d 606. Maloney confirmed the rule in Hartford Accident, etc., Co. v. Bristol, 242 Ga. 287, 248 S.E.2d 661 (1978), requiring the claimant to show that her inability to secure suitable employment elsewhere was proximately caus......
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...to prove by a preponderance that her inability to find employment was proximately caused by her disability. Hartford Accident, etc. Co. v. Bristol, 242 Ga. 287, 248 S.E.2d 661 (1978); Aden's Minit Market v. Landon, 202 Ga.App. 219, 220, 413 S.E.2d 738 (1991). The ALJ found, which finding th......