Manthei v. Robert C. Malt & Co.

• Decision Date: 22 October 1990
• Docket Number: No. 89-3392,89-3392
• Citation: 568 So.2d 525
• Parties: 15 Fla. L. Weekly D2634 Philip MANTHEI, Appellant, v. ROBERT C. MALT & CO. and the Claims Center, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 525

568 So.2d 525

15 Fla. L. Weekly D2634

Philip MANTHEI, Appellant, v. ROBERT C. MALT & CO. and the Claims Center, Appellees.

No. 89-3392.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,

First District.

Oct. 22, 1990.

Harvey Kaufman, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

H. George Kagan and Sean J. Gallagher, Miller, Kagan & Chait, P.A., Deerfield Beach, for appellees.

WIGGINTON, Judge.

Before us is a workers' compensation appeal from the order of the judge of compensation claims denying benefits on the basis that claimant had failed to carry his burden of proof in establishing a compensable injury. We find that the issues raised herein may be resolved by application of the logical cause doctrine in claimant's favor and therefore reverse the judge's order.

The accident in question occurred on December 20, 1988, while claimant was employed as a carpenter by the employer herein, when he slipped and fell between a section of joists striking his arm, leg, and allegedly, his head. ¹ At the time of the accident, claimant was 34 years old and had been working for the employer since the beginning of November 1988. His medical history is noteworthy for treatment of congenital cataracts in both eyes. In May 1988, a cataract was surgically removed from claimant's left eye and an implant inserted. Complications from that surgery resulted in the need for subsequent minor surgery to correct scarring. On December 15, 1988, just prior to the industrial accident, a cataract was removed from claimant's right eye and, again, an implant was inserted. Both operations were performed by ophthalmologist Dr. Mitchell.

Immediately following the subject accident, claimant informed his employer of his injuries and was asked if he desired to go to a family practice center. He responded by advising the employer that he had a scheduled appointment that day with Dr. Mitchell (five days post-op from the right lens implant surgery). ² Claimant, in fact, did keep his scheduled appointment with Dr. Mitchell that day. Dr. Mitchell later testified on deposition that at that time, blood from a hemorrhage that had occurred just after the surgery had cleared somewhat but that a full view of the right eye implant was obstructed by residual blood. Since the implant was obstructed at that time, Dr. Mitchell testified that its position was unascertainable. During this same scheduled examination, claimant reported to Dr. Mitchell a "fall at work."

Claimant returned to work and noticed that he had reduced visual acuity in his right eye. On January 3, 1989, claimant returned for a subsequent visit with Dr. Mitchell at which time the doctor confirmed that the lens had been dislodged. The implant was removed on January 26, 1989, and replaced by a contact lens. Although the contact lens is uncomfortable, claimant testified that without it he could not work because he lacked depth perception. Claimant ceased working for the employer on January 9, 1989.

At the time of the hearing, Dr. Mitchell testified by deposition. He indicated that on the day following the implant surgery to the right eye, he was able to partially see the lens to ascertain that it was in the central part of the pupil. However, on December 20, due to the hemorrhaging as noted above, the location of the implant could not be determined, although his report notes that claimant had improved. Nonetheless, on January 3, 1989, his notes indicate that claimant reported reduced visual acuity, and it was determined that the lens had been dislodged. As to the cause of the lens dislocation, Dr. Mitchell testified that he was not certain what factors were most active in moving the implant. He maintained that implants can slip as a result of an accident or without an accident and he had no information as to what caused the implant to move other than the accident at work. According to Dr. Mitchell, one of the possible causes of the implant dislocation was claimant's fall and there was nothing else in claimant's history other than the accident which would supply a possibility for the movement of the lens. Dr. Mitchell concluded that in this particular case, the fall was the most likely cause of the dislodging of the implant.

Following the hearing, the judge entered an order wherein the eye injury was found to be noncompensable and the request for medical care denied. The judge found that a "fair reading of Dr. Mitchell's testimony as a whole" failed to establish that the fall, within a reasonable degree of medical probability, caused the implant to slip. The judge cited Scotty's, Inc. v. Jones, 393 So.2d 657 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).

Contrary to the conclusion of the judge, we must agree with claimant that Dr. Mitchell's testimony was sufficient to invoke the logical cause doctrine as enunciated in Wilhelm v. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 235 So.2d 726 (Fla.1970). The most telling portion of Dr. Mitchell's testimony was when he stated that there was nothing else in claimant's history other than the accident which would account for the movement of the implant and that the fall was the most likely cause. The fact that claimant had just recently, within several days of the industrial accident, undergone implant surgery and had thereafter sustained a...