Home Ins. Co. v. Logan, 73--232
| Decision Date | 11 February 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 73--232,73--232 |
| Citation | 255 Ark. 1036,505 S.W.2d 25 |
| Parties | HOME INSURANCE COMPANY et al., Appellants, v. Charles R. LOGAN, Appellee. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Matthews, Purtle, Osterloh & Weber by John I. Purtle, Little Rock, for appellants.
Harkey & Walmsley by Bill H. Walmsley, Batesville, for appellee.
This is a claim for an increase in permanent partial disability benefits under the Workman's Compensation Act. In 1967 Logan, the claimant, sustained a back injury at work while lifting a piece of furniture. After surgery--a laminectomy and disc fusion--and after the completion of his healing period, Logan was awarded a 20% permanent partial disability. In 1971 Logan's physician, Dr. Millard, found that the disability had increased to 35% as related to the body as a whole. The Commission accepted Dr. Millard's evaluation and increased the award accordingly. The insurance carrier contends that there is no substantial evidence to sustain a finding that Logan's enhanced disability was attributable to the 1967 injury.
Interpreting the testimony in the light most favorable to the Commission's decision, as is our rule, we find sufficient substantial evidence to support the increased award. We have previously quoted from Larson's treatise on workmen's compensation law the rule that is applicable here: 'When the primary injury is shown to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, every natural consequence that flows from the injury likewise arises out of the employment, unless it is the result of an independent intervening cause attributable to claimant's own negligence or misconduct.' Aluminum Co. of America v. Williams, 232 Ark. 216, 335 S.W.2d 315 (1960). Hence the question is whether Logan's heightened disability could be found upon the evidence to be attributable to the original 1967 injury.
Dr. Millard's testimony amply supports the Commission's award. He stated at the outset that when he released Logan from medical treatment in 1967, he anticipated that the patient might have additional difficulty with his back. Later in his testimony Dr. Millard made such statements as:
After the termination of Logan's original healing period he obtained work with other employers and was involved in an automobile accident. The appellants argue in effect that Dr. Millard could not say...
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