Lombardi v. William Beaumont Hosp.
| Decision Date | 20 April 1993 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 154856 |
| Citation | 199 Mich.App. 428,502 N.W.2d 736 |
| Parties | Frank LOMBARDI, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WILLIAM BEAUMONT HOSPITAL, Defendant-Appellant. (On Remand) |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Slusky & Walt, P.C. by Howard J. Slusky, Southfield, for plaintiff-appellee.
Lacey & Jones by Susan B. Cope, Birmingham, for defendant-appellant.
Before BRENNAN, P.J., and HOOD and TAYLOR, JJ.
Defendant appeals from a February 25, 1991, order of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board, which reversed the decision of a hearing referee and awarded plaintiff benefits for a psychiatric disability. This Court initially denied defendant's application for leave to appeal, but our Supreme Court has remanded the matter to this Court for consideration as on leave granted. 440 Mich. 874, 486 N.W.2d 746 (1992).
Plaintiff immigrated to this country from Italy in his late teens. He worked for defendant for approximately twenty-six years, beginning in 1958. All but the first few months of his employment were spent in the hospital's laundry department. In the early 1970s, he became a supervisor in charge of numerous regular and temporary washroom workers.
Plaintiff testified that he suffered repeated verbal and physical abuse on the job from co-workers and supervisors. Some co-workers made disparaging remarks about his Italian heritage, calling him "Wop" or "Dago," and telling him to go back home to Italy. Plaintiff explained that he was repeatedly threatened by co-workers, on one occasion with a knife, and was involved in a number of fights. On one occasion, two employees allegedly held plaintiff while another punched him in the stomach. On another occasion, an employee allegedly squeezed plaintiff in a "bear hug" so painfully that he sought treatment at a hospital emergency room and was sore for weeks. Plaintiff alleged that his co-workers also threw laundry bags and pushed heavy carts full of laundry at him.
Plaintiff alleged that his supervisors exacerbated his problems by failing to exercise proper discipline, and his control over the situation continued to deteriorate after a change in management in 1975. He complained that the new management changed the hospital's laundry procedures for the worse, and refused to allow him to keep his written work records in his native Italian, despite his inability to read or write in English. He also testified that he was designated as a "guinea pig" or scapegoat to be blamed any time something went wrong. Plaintiff explained that he eventually began having difficulty thinking straight and performing his job properly. Ultimately, in July of 1984, he reported to his immediate supervisor that he could not continue working, and was sent home. He has not returned to work ever.
Plaintiff also described some of the nonoccupational stresses in his life, such as the death of a brother several years before his last day at work, although he explained that he missed only three days of work and did not seek psychiatric help at that time. He also acknowledged that his wife continues to suffer from injuries sustained in a 1975 automobile accident. Although plaintiff denied any fault for his wife's injuries, he testified that he felt sorry for her. He further testified that he blames himself for a deterioration of the marital relationship, explaining that the couple's sex life is not what it used to be because of his depression.
Dr. Forman, plaintiff's treating psychiatrist since February 1984, diagnosed plaintiff as suffering from disabling dysthymic disorder/depression. Dr. Forman received a history of work events from plaintiff, which was generally consistent with plaintiff's testimony at trial, and opined that plaintiff's psychiatric disability is causally related to those work events. When asked to indicate the effect of plaintiff's work situation in terms of significance, Dr. Forman opined that plaintiff's work had a great deal to do with his present disability.
Dr. Forman indicated that plaintiff also reported having stresses in life besides his work, such as difficulties with his wife and worry about her illness. He suggested that plaintiff's concerns about his wife, possibly in combination with the loss of his job, may have been a "last straw" in the progression of plaintiff's psychiatric disorder. Dr. Forman also admitted that he had no objective corroboration that the work events described by plaintiff actually occurred, and that plaintiff's mental condition may affect the accuracy of his perceptions.
Defendant's expert, Dr. Ager, also found plaintiff to be mentally disabled, possibly by organic brain syndrome and Alzheimer's disease, or possibly a major depressive disorder with agitation and psychotic features. However, Dr. Ager doubted the accuracy of plaintiff's description of work events, and opined that plaintiff's job played no role in the development of his mental disability. Dr. Ager suggested that nonoccupational factors, such as marital problems and the death of family members, might have affected plaintiff's mental condition.
The hearing referee denied benefits, finding that plaintiff's disability was not caused by work-related conditions. Plaintiff appealed to the WCAB, which reversed the decision of the hearing referee and granted an open award of benefits on the basis of the "controlling" opinion of a third panel member assigned to the case when the two original panel members were unable to agree on the disposition of the case. Essentially, the original panel members disagreed with respect to the credibility of plaintiff's testimony regarding the occurrence of precipitating work events. One panel member found plaintiff's testimony insufficient to establish that the alleged events actually occurred, given the lack of corroboration and the effect of plaintiff's mental illness on his perception of reality. The other panel member found plaintiff's testimony to be credible, noting that it was consistent with the histories he gave to the medical experts in this case, as well as the absence of any evidence rebutting plaintiff's description of the alleged work events. The third panel member agreed with the latter view, adding that plaintiff's claims could not be disbelieved simply because he may misperceive events.
Plaintiff's mental disability is not disputed in this appeal, only his entitlement to workers' compensation for that disability. Plaintiff's claim is governed by the following statutory standard set forth at M.C.L. § 418.301(2); M.S.A. § 17.237(301)(2) and M.C.L. § 418.401(2)(b); M.S.A. § 17.237(401)(2)(b):
Mental disabilities and conditions of the aging process, including but not limited to heart and cardiovascular conditions, shall be compensable if contributed to or aggravated or accelerated by the employment in a significant manner. Mental disabilities shall be compensable when arising out of actual events of employment, not unfounded perceptions thereof.
This standard replaces the so-called "honest perception" standard set forth in Deziel v. Difco Laboratories, Inc. (After Remand), 403 Mich. 1, 268 N.W.2d 1 (1978), whereby causation may be established strictly on the basis of the claimant's honest though perhaps mistaken subjective belief that some work injury caused the mental disability. The statutory standard creates an objective test, whereby a mentally disabled claimant must establish the occurrence of personal injury in the nature of an actual, precipitating, work-related physical trauma, event, or events, rather than unfounded perceptions thereof, and that the employment contributed to, aggravated, or accelerated the mental disability in a significant manner. Gardner v. Van Buren Public Schools, 197 Mich.App. 265, 269-270, 494 N.W.2d 845 (1992); Iloyan v. General Motors Corp.,...
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...in the MCAC's opinion, but the opinion is detailed enough for appellate review.Plaintiff cites Lombardi v. William Beaumont Hosp. (On Remand) , 199 Mich.App. 428, 502 N.W.2d 736 (1993). In Lombardi , id. at 435-436, 502 N.W.2d 736, this Court stated:We are troubled, however, by [the Workers......
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...is detailed enough for appellate review. Plaintiff cites Lombardi v William Beaumont Hosp, 199 Mich.App. 428; 502 N.W.2d 736 (1993). In Lombardi, id. at 435-436, this Court We are troubled, however, by the WCAB's rather conclusory determination that plaintiff's employment contributed to, ag......