Lovett v. Gore Newspapers Co.
| Decision Date | 15 July 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 60430,60430 |
| Citation | 419 So.2d 306 |
| Parties | Lilla LOVETT, Petitioner, v. GORE NEWSPAPERS COMPANY and Zurich Insurance Company, Respondents. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Dennis M. Usdan of the Law Offices of Nolan & Usdan, Fort Lauderdale, for petitioner.
Joseph H. Lowe of Marlow, Shofi, Ortmayer, Smith, Connell & Valerius, Miami, for respondents.
This cause is before the Court on petition for review of the decision of the district court of appeal on the ground of express and direct conflict with decisions of this Court. The decision below, Gore Newspapers Company v. Lovett, 393 So.2d 1152 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), conflicts with Foxworth v. Florida Industrial Commission, 86 So.2d 147 (Fla.1955), and Protectu Awning Shutter Co. v. Cline, 154 Fla. 30, 16 So.2d 342 (1944). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla.Const.
This case arises from the petitioner's claim of workers' compensation from the respondents. Petitioner Lilla Lovett was a 59-year-old widow who suffered from a congenital condition known as scoliosis which is characterized by a very marked curvature of the spine. This pre-existing condition was aggravated when petitioner fell at work, striking her back on a linoleum-covered concrete floor. The employer, Gore Newspapers Company, and its insurer, Zurich Insurance Company, contested petitioner's workers' compensation claim, contending that the accident was not one arising out of and in the course of her employment. A deputy commissioner held a hearing and found the following facts:
c. On March 6, 1978 the claimant was employed as an advertising paster working her usual hours from 4:00 p.m. to 11:50 p.m., Monday through Friday. Her employment duties included ordering, typing, assembling and pasting together advertising pieces. The claimant was employed in the composing room and was required to do prolonged walking to fulfill the responsibilities of her job which included delivering the completed advertisement to the proof readers. On the evening of March 6, 1978, the claimant testified, and I find her testimony truthful, that she developed a dull ache in her head which worsened considerably throughout her shift. At the end of the claimant's normal working hours she testified that she was feeling tired, nauseous and headachy. Further testimony revealed that some time just after 11:00 p. m. the claimant was advised by a representative of the employer that she would be required to work overtime for approximately two hours following the normal end of her shift at 11:50 p. m. The claimant notified her employer that she was not capable of working the two extra hours of overtime because of her condition which had worsened considerably throughout the evening. The claimant was advised by her employer that she would be required to work the extra two hours of overtime, and the same would be mandatory in order for her to continue to retain her employment position. The claimant testified that she was fearful of being terminated and decided to work the overtime shift. At about 12:45 a. m. on March 7, 1978, while working her overtime shift, the claimant decided that it was necessary to go to the rest room just down the hall from the area where she was working. On the way to the rest room the claimant fell to the hard concrete floor covered with tile, landing on her back. The claimant was immediately rushed to Broward General Hospital and treated in the emergency room and released.
d. That same morning, the claimant came under the care and treatment of Dr. Floyd Osterman, who advised her to remain out of work to recover from the back injury sustained in the fall. From March 7, 1978 through April 2, 1978 the claimant was confined to her home. On April 3, 1978 the claimant tried to return to her usual employment. After one day of trial work the claimant again had a recurrence of her severe back pain and advised her employer that she was not able to continue working.
e. On April 20, 1978 the claimant came under the care and treatment of an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. George Rahilly. The claimant received conservative care from Dr. Rahilly, including physical therapy and medication for relief of back pain. Again the claimant tried to return to her usual work in the middle of April, 1978, and was again unable to continue working because of the nature of her pain, from April 24, 1978 to September 4, 1978. Once again the claimant tried to return to work from September 4, 1978 through March 9, 1979, however, she was...
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Kennecott Corp., Kennecott Minerals Co. Div. v. Industrial Com'n of Utah
...v. Industrial Commission, 38 Ill.2d 593, 232 N.E.2d 744 (1967) (recovery for fall to level floor denied), with Lovett v. Gore Newspapers Co., Fla., 419 So.2d 306 (1982) (recovery ...
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Georgetown University v. Dist. of Columbia Dept. of Employment Services, No. 07-AA-1258.
...found fall resulted from pre-existing knee condition causing it to give way, compensation award reversed), with Lovett v. Gore Newspapers Co., 419 So.2d 306 (Fla.1982) (level fall compensable because work conditions — requirement that claimant work overtime on tiled concrete floor — constit......
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...the application of this limiting notion in diverse factual contexts has led to a lack of uniformity in results. See Lovett v. Gore Newspapers Co., 419 So.2d 306 (Fla.1982) (claimant, injured by a fall on a linoleum-covered concrete floor, permitted recovery, despite the claimant's preexisti......
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