Morrison v. Burlington Industries
| Decision Date | 23 October 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 60,60 |
| Citation | 271 S.E.2d 364,301 N.C. 226 |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | Elsie T. MORRISON, Employee, Plaintiff, v. BURLINGTON INDUSTRIES, Employer, and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Carrier, Defendants. |
Hassell & Hudson, Raleigh, for employee, plaintiff.
Teague, Campbell, Conely & Dennis, Raleigh, for Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.
Smith, Moore, Smith, Schell & Hunter, Greensboro, for Burlington Industries.
This matter is before us on appeal from a decision of the North Carolina Court of Appeals reported in 47 N.C.App. 50, 266 S.E.2d 741 (1980).
On 26 August 1976, plaintiff filed notice of accident and claim with the Industrial Commission, alleging that her exposure to cotton dust while working at Burlington Industries prior to 25 April 1974 had caused her to contract an occupational disease, byssinosis, resulting in permanent and total disability.
On 18 December 1978, Commissioner Brown entered an Opinion and Award finding that plaintiff was totally disabled for work due to her exposure to cotton dust while in defendant's employ. He entered an award accordingly. Defendants appealed to the Full Commission which modified Commissioner Brown's award. The Full Commission found that plaintiff does suffer from an occupational disease and is entitled to compensation but "that plaintiff is not totally disabled by reason of such occupational disease." (Emphasis added.) It found that,
The Full Commission also entered the following finding of fact:
Due to the occupational disease suffered by plaintiff and due to her other physical infirmities, including bronchitis, phlebitis, varicose veins and diabetes, plaintiff has no earning capacity in any employment for which she can qualify in the labor market. Fifty-five percent of such disability is due to her occupational disease and 45 percent of such disability is due to her physical infirmities not related to her employment with defendant-employer.
The Commission thereupon awarded plaintiff 55% partial disability compensation for three hundred weeks pursuant to G.S. 97-30.
Plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeals which reversed the Full Commission. The Court of Appeals held that the employee was totally incapacitated for work due to a compensable occupational disease and was entitled to an award for total incapacity under G.S. 97-29. Chief Judge Morris dissented on the ground that an employee should be compensated only for incapacity "resulting from the injury," and not for "factors totally unrelated to her employment."
On 7 July 1980, defendants appealed to this Court pursuant to G.S. 7A-30. We heard oral arguments on 13 October 1980. We do not express any opinion on the merits in this order. For reasons stated below, we remand to the Industrial Commission for further hearing on the medical evidence, direct that a record of the proceedings on remand be forwarded to this Court forthwith and retain jurisdiction for our final determination on the merits.
We note herewith a summary of the medical testimony.
Dr. Mabe testified, inter alia, as follows:
On September 3, 1975, she had a persistent bronchitis, chronic fibrosis of the lungs and concomitant phlebitis of the left leg. ...
... Based on my physical examination and taking a history on her admission, she was admitted to the hospital with a working diagnosis of a recent upper respiratory infection superimposed on chronic bronchitis, diabetes mellitus, controlled by diet; and suspected byssinosis, occupational oriented. The final impression was chronic bronchitis, severe, diabetes mellitus, controlled by diet; possible byssinosis with history of exposure to lint, aggravated by upper respiratory infections and productive cough.
... (T)he medical bases for her disability were chronic bronchitis, phlebitis of the left leg with some brown edema, maxillary sinusitis, and, of course, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease were the primary things as far as working was concerned. She did have a leg problem with old residual which would not have totally disabled her but it was an added factor to her disability. ...
I have treated her multiple times for respiratory infections, with sinusitis involved in it. In 1965, she did have a lot of respiratory infections, but this was a different season of the life and different age. She was treated on multiple occasions for bronchitis, cough. I did not treat her originally for the phlebitis. That was a residual and more current thing, but before she retired, she was treated for a chronic, persistent cough, which we labelled as a bronchitis.
... She had a leg problem too, which kept her from doing anything with any walking any length of time, or standing. This was another problem, and was an additive factor as far as her maintaining a job of some other character.
Dr. Sieker testified, inter alia, as follows:
Pulmonary function studies showed lung capacity 85% of normal but with severe obstruction of the bronchial tubes so that arterial oxygen is 62. Her arterial oxygen normally is 80 and with exercise, it is only 71, so she has severe respiratory disability.
... She had mild diabetes and phlebitis in her leg.
... She smoked about a half a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years and less in recent years. ...
... Based upon all the foregoing, my opinion satisfactory to myself to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, with the history of long exposure, is that the plaintiff's cotton dust exposure is most likely a causative factor in her chronic lung disease.
Again, based upon the same report and facts, my opinion, satisfactory to myself to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, is that the plaintiff's disability is due to her chronic lung disease. ...
I did get a history of smoking. At the maximum, she smoked a half pack a day and by her history, and she decreased this amount, although she was still smoking at the time I saw her. I noted that she had a "small nodular density in...
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Morrison v. Burlington Industries, 114
...by competent evidence. This is so even though there is evidence to support a contrary finding of fact. Morrison v. Burlington Industries, 301 N.C. 226, 271 S.E.2d 364 (1980); Inscoe v. Industries, Inc., 292 N.C. 210, 232 S.E.2d 449 (1977); Anderson v. Construction Co., 265 N.C. 431, 144 S.E......
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State v. McDowell
...the standard justifies our remanding the case for reconsideration de novo based upon the new explication. See Morrison v. Burlington Industries, 301 N.C. 226, 271 S.E.2d 364 (1980). We, therefore, vacate Judge Collier's order granting defendant a new trial and we remand the matter for a hea......
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Pittman v. Thomas & Howard
...competent evidence even if there is evidence in the record which would support a contrary finding."); Morrison v. Burlington Industries, 301 N.C. 226, 232, 271 S.E.2d 364, 367 (1980)(Court declines to abandon rule that exclusive authority to find facts rests with Commission, and that "such ......
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Buck v. Procter & Gamble Mfg. Co.
...and the mere fact that an appellate court disagrees with the findings of the Commission is not grounds for reversal. 301 N.C. 226, 232, 271 S.E.2d 364, 367 (1980). We shall now proceed to address the merits of defendant's appeal in accordance with these sound principles of judicial In the i......