McDonald v. International Paper Co., 14534

• Decision Date: 27 April 1981
• Docket Number: No. 14534,14534
• Citation: 398 So.2d 1182
• Parties: Linda H. McDONALD v. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 1182

398 So.2d 1182

Linda H. McDONALD v. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY.

No. 14534.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

April 27, 1981.

Campbell, Campbell & Johnson by John T. Campbell and James M. Johnson, Minden, for plaintiff-appellee.

Madison, Files, Garrett & Brandon by Charles L. Hamaker, Theus, Grisham, Davis & Leigh by J. Bachman Lee, Monroe, for defendant-appellant.

Before HALL, JASPER E. JONES and FRED W. JONES, Jr., JJ.

JASPER E. JONES, Judge.

Defendant, International Paper Co., appeals a judgment adjudicating it liable for worker's compensation benefits for the widow and children of its deceased employee, Marion McDonald, who died of a heart attack at the age of 36. The judgment also awarded penalties and attorney's fees.

McDonald had been employed at defendant's Springhill Paper Mill for approximately 17 years. At the time of his death his job was classified as Washer First Helper in the washer room of the pulp mill.

On February 5, 1979, decedent was working the graveyard shift and reported to defendant's mill at 10:20 p. m. to commence his duties. He walked some 150 yards up and down two small flights of steps to the Tour Foreman's office where he commenced to fill in his time card. Decedent was required to report to the Tour Foreman's office for the purpose of receiving any extraordinary instructions relating to the work on the upcoming shift. While sitting in this office he became sick and departed for the first aid room after having advised the operator on his shift who was his immediate supervisor that he was going to the first aid room. Decedent collapsed just before reaching the first aid room and was carried by ambulance to a hospital in Springhill where he was immediately pronounced dead on arrival.

Defendant assigns as error the trial court's finding that the heart attack was related to decedent's employment. Defendant also contents that if the heart attack was employment related, that the award of penalties and attorney's fees was error because defendant was justified in not voluntarily paying compensation benefits because decedent had performed no work prior to the occurrence of the heart attack.

A heart attack is an accidental injury within the contemplation of LSA-R.S. 23:1021(1) and (7), and LSA-R.S. 23:1031. In order for the heart attack to be compensable the preponderance of the evidence must show that it was caused, precipitated or contributed to by factors directly related to the employment. Roussel v. Colonial Sugars Company, 318 So.2d 37 (La.1975); Barnes v. City of New Orleans, 322 So.2d 821 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1975); Fields v. Sperry Rand Corp., 343 So.2d 339 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1977); Jacob v. Godchaux-Henderson Sugar Co., Inc., 350 So.2d 274 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1977).

The guidelines for proving causal connection between the heart attack and the employment as set forth in Roussel, supra, are as follows:

"The only remaining issue for determination is whether plaintiff proved by a preponderance of evidence that the fatal heart attack which occurred on the job was caused by decedent's employment. Difficulty in proving causation arises from the fact that a pre-existing heart infirmity can produce disability at any moment irrespective of any outside influence. However, it is well settled that benefits are due in compensation cases involving heart conditions resulting in disability or death, whether or not the condition is pre-existing, when the accidental injury is caused or precipitated by the usual and customary actions, exertions and other factors directly connected with the employment. Hence, it is of no significance that the heart attack could have occurred at another time and place if, in fact, the accidental injury occurred on the job. Further, it is not necessary that the accident resulting in disability or death be caused by extraordinary activities of the employee or that said activities be the exclusive cause of the accidental injury. As previously stated, it is only necessary that the death or disability resulting from the accidental injury be caused or precipitated by the usual and customary actions, exertions and other factors directly connected with the employment." Id. p. 39. (emphasis supplied)

Included in the trial judge's excellent reasons for judgment are the following findings which are fully supported by the record:

"Several months prior to Mr. McDonald's death, International Paper Company had announced that the Springhill Mill would be closed. It was apparent to Mrs. McDonald and other co-workers and friends that Mr. McDonald was worried about the closing of the mill and the possibility of the termination of his job. The evidence showed that during the past several weeks prior to his death, there was increased difficulty at the mill caused by the crews being shorthanded and the personnel not being as diligent with their work and also caused by increased difficulty with old equipment needing increased maintenance. Mr. McDonald supervised nine men during his work, and when these men were absent or were taking a break, he took their place and performed work for them. The washer area where he sometimes worked was subject to extreme hot temperatures up to 130o . Mr. McDonald was a conscientious worker who felt responsible for the performance of the necessary tasks at work, and all of these factors placed considerable physical and emotional strain on him, particularly within the last week or ten days prior to his death. During that period his co-workers noticed several changes in him indicating he was under mental and physical strain, and during that period he complained on occasion of chest pains and his co-workers noticed that he became withdrawn within the last week or so before his death.

Even a defense witness, Leroy Shelley, testified that the job performed by Mr. McDonald was stressful at times and that he was under strain caused by the men and the machinery. Mr. Shelley testified that there was stress on himself as well as on Mr. McDonald."

An autopsy was performed on the body of decedent by Dr. McCormick, a forensic pathologist, who found that decedent had died from a myocardial infarction. He found that decedent was suffering from arteriosclerosis of several months duration and that he had unusually small blood vessels. This pathologist after examining the muscle of the heart expressed the opinion that the tissue of the heart had been dying for several days and perhaps as long as a week before decedent's death.

Dr. McCormick testified there were six principal causes for myocardial infarction in relatively young men. These were hypertension, heredity, excessive smoking, high blood cholesterol levels, stress, and diabetes.

There had been a blood work-up on decedent several weeks before his death and his blood did not have a high cholesterol level. During this examination decedent was found to have no high blood pressure or diabetes. Based upon this information Dr. McCormick eliminated high blood cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension as a contributing cause of decedent's heart attack. Evidence was introduced to establish that there was no history of heart attacks in decedent's family, and on this basis the heredity factor was eliminated. Evidence established that decedent only smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, and Dr. McCormick discounted decedent's smoking habit as a cause for his heart attack.

Dr. McCormick was given the facts relating to the circumstances under which McDonald had been working and expressed the opinion that the myocardial infarction was due to the physical and mental stress to which McDonald was subjected by his employment. He stated that the stress which decedent had undergone during the several days before his death precipitated the occurrence of the death of the muscles of the heart:

"A. No sir, because what I'm going by is I think the oldest infarction there is several days, therefore, I think that the occlusion of the vessel occurred several days before his death and that subsequent to that time the heart muscles had been dying."

It was therefore his opinion that the stress which decedent had undergone performing the work for defendant in the several days before the actual occurrence of decedent's death was a contributing factor to decedent's terminal heart attack. Dr. McCormick expressed the opinion that the circumstances that existed on the night of Feb. 5 and the activity of decedent's reporting to work and filling in his time card on the night of his death had not contributed to decedent's fatal myocardial infarction.

Dr. Bridges also testified that stress was one of the principal causes of myocardial infarction in people of decedent's age. He stated that stress affects the blood chemistry and causes the formation of clots. He stated that stress caused the blood vessels to go into spasms and that the combination of clots and the spasms in the blood vessels precipitated the occlusion of the blood vessels and brought about the infarction.

Dr....