Reeves Rubber, Inc. v. Wallace

• Decision Date: 13 May 2005
• Docket Number: 2030947.
• Citation: 912 So.2d 274
• Parties: REEVES RUBBER, INC. v. Mary Kate WALLACE.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

912 So.2d 274

REEVES RUBBER, INC. v. Mary Kate WALLACE.

2030947.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

May 13, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Don G. DeCoudres, Birmingham, for appellant.

Joel R. Hamner of Wolfe, Jones & Boswell, Huntsville, for appellee.

THOMPSON, Judge.

Mary Kate Wallace sued Reeves Rubber, Inc., seeking workers' compensation benefits for an alleged injury to her back sustained on January 29, 2001, in the line and scope of her employment. Reeves Rubber answered and denied liability. Following the presentation of ore tenus evidence, the trial court entered a detailed judgment on June 9, 2004, determining that Wallace was permanently and totally disabled as a result of the work-related injury and awarding benefits accordingly. In reaching its determination, the trial court found, among other things, that Wallace's January 29, 2001, injury to her back arose out of and in the course of her employment with Reeves Rubber and that Wallace had suffered a new injury and/or an aggravation of an existing injury. The trial court ordered Reeves Rubber to pay Wallace permanent and total disability workers' compensation benefits "for the remainder of her life." Reeves Rubber was also ordered to "authorize and bear the cost of all medical treatment to be performed by Dr. Larry Parker" as it relates to the January 29, 2001, on-the-job injury. The trial court ordered Reeves Rubber to pay $3,199.83 in costs. No postjudgment motions were filed, and Reeves Rubber timely appealed.

The record reveals the following pertinent facts. At the time of trial, Wallace was 62 years old. Wallace completed the 10th grade and later received her GED. Wallace has worked the majority of her life. Before working at Reeves Rubber Wallace had worked as a seamstress and as an assembly line worker. She had also helped manage a family grocery store and had arranged artificial flowers. At the time of the accident, Wallace rotated among three positions at Reeves Rubber; the positions she rotated among were office clerk, lab technician, and splicer. It was while attempting to perform her job duties as a splicer that Wallace injured herself.

On January 29, 2001, Wallace injured her back after lifting scrap rubber off of a table at work. Wallace testified that she felt immediate pain in her lower back after she removed the scrap rubber from the table. According to Wallace, she had never felt pain that severe. Wallace immediately reported her injury to her supervisor. On the day of her accident, immediately following the end of her work shift, Wallace went to Dr. Bechert, a chiropractor, for treatment; Wallace had already scheduled an appointment with Dr. Bechert for that day. Before her January 29, 2001, visit to Dr. Bechert following her on-the-job injury, Wallace had seen Dr. Bechert on January 19, 2001, and on January 22, 2001, for treatment. Wallace testified that she initially sought treatment from Dr. Bechert for back discomfort related to kidney stones. According to Wallace, the pain she felt in her back following the January 29, 2001, accident was sharp and severe, whereas the pain she felt before the accident was generally a "soreness."

Dr. Bechert testified by deposition that Wallace reported during her first visit that her back had been bothering her for six months. According to Dr. Bechert, Wallace did not indicate at that time that a trauma had caused her back pain. Dr. Bechert testified that Wallace indicated that she had been having problems with her kidneys for approximately six months. Dr. Bechert testified that the lower-back pain Wallace experienced before her on-the-job injury could be related to her kidney problems and that kidney stones can contribute to lower-back pain. Wallace testified that her initial treatment with Dr. Bechert did not completely resolve the pain in her back.

Wallace sought treatment for her back pain from Dr. John Boggess, her family physician since 1985. On February 26, 2001, Dr. Boggess examined Wallace and diagnosed her as suffering from a lumbar strain; he restricted Wallace from lifting any weight greater than five pounds. On March 13, 2001, Dr. Boggess noted that Wallace's back pain had improved; however, Wallace continued to work with the restriction given by Dr. Boggess. In April 2001, Wallace returned to Dr. Boggess for treatment and reported pain radiating down her left leg. A CAT scan performed in May 2001 indicated that Wallace suffered from degenerative disc disease at L5-S1 and a possible protruding disc at the L5-S1 level. Wallace's complaints of pain continued to increase, and the pain radiated down both of her legs. On October 16, 2001, Dr. Boggess diagnosed Wallace as suffering from chronic back pain and referred Wallace for a functional capacities evaluation ("FCE") to assess her work status. The FCE was conducted on October 25, 2001; according to the FCE report, Wallace was capable of performing work at a light-physical-demand strength level on an occasional basis.

On November 13, 2001, Wallace sought treatment from Dr. James P. Bailey, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Bailey examined Wallace and diagnosed her with lumbar degenerative disc disease. Dr. Bailey found no surgical lesions and recommended that Wallace seek treatment from a pain-management clinic. On January 4, 2002, Dr. Bailey opined that Wallace had reached maximum medical improvement and released her to return to work. Wallace also sought treatment from Dr. William Haller, an orthopedic surgeon, for her back pain. Dr. Haller diagnosed Wallace with chronic lower-back pain and permanently restricted Wallace to sedentary work.

Wallace returned to Dr. Boggess for treatment in January 2002 for her chronic back pain. Wallace continued to complain of pain in her back and pain radiating down her right leg. On October 3, 2002, Dr. Boggess concluded that Wallace would not be able to return to work and that she was 100% permanently and totally disabled.

Wallace testified that, before the January 29, 2001, accident, she had never had to have special accommodations for any medical reasons while working at Reeves Rubber. According to Wallace, she was capable of performing her job duties before the January 29, 2001, accident. Wallace testified that since the accident the pain in her back has increased and become "chronic" in nature; she noted that she is never free from pain. According to Wallace, she had never experienced pain radiating down her legs before the accident. Wallace testified that her physical activity has been severely limited since the January 2001 accident. Wallace testified that she drives on occasion and that pain in her legs prevents her from walking for exercise. According to Wallace, the pain also prevents her from sleeping for longer than three hours at a time at night.

Several witnesses testified regarding Wallace's job performance before the January 29, 2001, accident. Jerry Williams, a coworker, testified that Wallace never complained of back pain or pain radiating into her legs before the accident. According to Williams, Wallace was always willing and able to perform her normal job duties before the accident. Bobby Breedwell, Wallace's supervisor, testified that Wallace had no problems or difficulties performing her job duties before the accident. Breedwell testified that Wallace never complained of pain before the accident. According to Breedwell, Wallace was a "great" employee. After the accident Wallace returned to work but, according to Breedwell, she had to leave because she was in so much pain. Gary Wallace, Wallace's husband of 48 years and her coworker, testified that his wife's back discomfort before the accident did not prevent her from performing her job duties at Reeves Rubber. Gary Wallace testified that his wife had had no physical limitations that prevented her from working before the accident. According to Gary Wallace, his wife's condition worsened after the accident; she complained of pain radiating in her hip and down her leg. Gary Wallace testified that his wife would drag her leg. According to Gary Wallace, his wife's right leg "kills her all the time" and affects her ability to sleep.

Two vocational experts evaluated Wallace at different times during her treatment following the January 29, 2001, on-the-job accident to determine her vocational disability. Susan Morrow conducted an evaluation on behalf of Reeves Rubber on November 15, 2001; Morrow prepared three vocational-assessment reports at different times following her evaluation of Wallace. On February 19, 2002, Morrow concluded, using the medical records provided to her, that Wallace had a 23% disability rating. After additional medical records were provided, Morrow, on May 31, 2002, concluded that Wallace had a 54% disability rating. However, in her final vocational-assessment report, Morrow, relying solely on Dr. Bechert's deposition testimony, concluded that Wallace would have no vocational-disability rating as a result of her January 29, 2001, injury. Patsy V. Bramlett, Wallace's vocational expert, evaluated Wallace on January 28, 2003. In her May 30, 2003, vocational-assessment report, Bramlett concluded that, given the extent of Wallace's pain and her work history, Wallace was 100% vocationally disabled.

Reeves Rubber raised five issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred in finding that the January 29, 2001, accident caused Wallace's current disability; (2) whether the trial court erred in determining that Wallace was permanently and totally disabled; (3)whether the trial court erred in taxing costs to Reeves Rubber; (4) whether the trial court erred in requiring Reeves Rubber to pay for medical treatment provided by Dr. Larry Parker; and (5) whether the trial court erred by ordering Reeves Rubber to pay Wallace benefits for the remainder of her life.

When this court reviews a trial court's factual findings in a workers' compensation case, those findings will not be reversed if they are...