Reynolds v. Wal Mart Stores, Inc.

• Decision Date: 16 January 1984
• Docket Number: No. 15908-CA,15908-CA
• Citation: 445 So.2d 490
• Parties: Nelda REYNOLDS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WAL MART STORES, INC., Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 490

445 So.2d 490

Nelda REYNOLDS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.WAL MART STORES, INC., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 15908-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana Second Circuit.

Jan. 16, 1984.

Lunn, Irion, Switzer, Johnson & Salley by Frank M. Walker, Jr., Shreveport, for defendant-appellant.

Watson, Murchison, Crews, Arthur & Corkern by Ronald E. Corkern, Jr., Natchitoches, for plaintiff-appellee.

Before HALL, MARVIN and SEXTON, JJ.

SEXTON, Judge.

Plaintiff brought an action in workers' compensation against defendant for disability benefits, statutory penalties, and attorney's fees.The trial court awarded plaintiff total and temporary disability benefits, statutory penalties and attorney's fees.We amend, and as amended, affirm the trial court's decree.

Plaintiff in this cause is Nelda Faye Reynolds, a 32-year old white female who lives outside Mansfield, Louisiana.Defendant herein is Wal-Mart Stores, Incorporated, a foreign corporation authorized to do business in Louisiana (hereinafter referred to as Wal-Mart).

Ms. Reynolds began working for Wal-Mart in November of 1981, at its Mansfield outlet.She was employed to manage several departments, and her duties encompassed the management of the garden center, and the artificial flowers, home furnishings, and pet departments.In the discharge of her duties, Ms. Reynolds was required to implement mark-ups and mark-downs; lift, carry and shelve merchandise; arrange sales displays; and maintain the cleanliness and order of her departments.

The work accident which precipitated the instant suit occurred on Thursday, July 8, 1982.At that time, plaintiff was working 40 hours a week, at the rate of $3.85 per hour.On that date, Ms. Reynolds was moving a vertical stack of five or six curio cabinets into an aisle for the purpose of arranging the cabinets into a sales display.As Ms. Reynolds attempted to move the stack of cabinets, they began to sway and shift.In an attempt to steady the swaying cabinets, Ms. Reynolds reached out to grab them.Ms. Reynolds successfully prevented the cabinets from falling to the floor, but fell to the concrete floor in the process, striking her hands on several shelves on the way down.Plaintiff--who is left-handed--injured her left wrist and left ankle in the fall.She remained on the floor stunned for several minutes before regaining her feet.

Immediately after regaining her feet, plaintiff walked to the office of the store manager to report her injury.Ms. Reynolds's injury to her left ankle was apparent to her co-workers, who testified that she was limping and noticeably favoring one foot as she appeared at the store manager's office.However the store manager rebuked plaintiff, and according to Ms. Reynolds admonished her that "when you start doing stupid things like that it is time to go home, go punch out."Ms. Reynolds then returned to her work area to put away her marking gun, since Wal-Mart employees "were told never to leave [a] marking gun out."The store manager again chastised her, instructing her to go home.

Ms. Reynolds thereafter went directly home, and obtained the assistance of a friend to drive her to the DeSoto General Hospital in Mansfield.On the night of July 8, an emergency medical technician at DeSoto General administered a nerve conduction test on plaintiff's fingers and left hand, conducted an X-ray examination, applied a plaster splint to plaintiff's left wrist and hand, and referred plaintiff to Shreveport orthopaedic surgeon Dr. James Zum Brunnen.

The following day, Friday, July 9, plaintiff was examined by Dr. Zum Brunnen.Dr. Zum Brunnen found that plaintiff had tenderness and pain in her left wrist, and periodic numbness in the thumb and fingers of the left hand.Dr. Zum Brunnen fitted plaintiff with a forearm brace, and prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication and Tylenol # 3 for her.

Dr. Zum Brunnen advised plaintiff that she should not return to work so that her condition would have ample time to improve.However, plaintiff explained to Dr. Zum Brunnen that she needed to work because her husband was disabled.Dr. Zum Brunnen then advised plaintiff to obtain a leave of absence until the following Monday, and to wear her splint when she returned to work.

Pursuant to Dr. Zum Brunnen's orders, plaintiff utilized sick leave and did not work her scheduled shifts on Friday and Saturday.Plaintiff returned to work the following Monday, July 12, wearing her splint, and informed her superiors that because of her wrist injury she was unable to discharge all of the physical tasks associated with managing four departments.Her superiors initially insisted that she would have to retain responsibility over the four departments.However, after plaintiff threatened to quit, her superiors reduced her weekly workload from forty hours to twenty hours, and relieved her of her responsibility over all departments save the pet department.

Thus subsequent to July 12, plaintiff worked 20 hours per week for several weeks under her reduced responsibilities as manager of the pet department.Her tasks as manager of that department involved manual work, and included feeding the birds, fish and animals, and cleaning their cages and aquariums.

On July 27, Ms. Reynolds returned to Dr. Zum Brunnen.Dr. Zum Brunnen noted that plaintiff had suffered severe pain in her left wrist, during the July 12 to July 27 interim, in performing the physical tasks associated with her job as pet department manager.Dr. Zum Brunnen noted that plaintiff"has kept on with her regular work but now needs to be taken off of this type work."Dr. Zum Brunnen therefore recommended that plaintiff"will either need to be completely off work or else do work just of a clerical nature."

Plaintiff returned to work with Dr. Zum Brunnen's recommendation following the July 27th medical examination, and her superiors consented to promoting her to the supervisory position of Customer Service Manager, in which position plaintiff essentially functioned as a checkout supervisor.Thus subsequent to July 27, plaintiff was relieved of the manual responsibilities she was previously charged with, and assumed a supervisory role approximately 35 hours a week as a checkout supervisor.Plaintiff acknowledged that, in relation to her former duties, her job as checkout supervisor involved "lighter work."The position of checkout supervisor entailed, more specifically, "giving out change for the cashiers, okaying the checks, and things like this which required just writing my initials on the back of Visas, Master Cards and checks."

Plaintiff's job promotion to checkout supervisor, which relieved her of the manual labor involved in managing several departments, significantly alleviated the painful wrist condition which had previously plagued her from July 12 to July 27 during the performance of manual labor.This effect was duly noted by Dr. Zum Brunnen who observed, on August 25, 1982, that plaintiff

"seems to be doing quite well as far as her wrist is concerned.She is not having pain but does have some intermittent numbness in her fingers.She has been promoted to a supervisory job and does not have to do any lifting with the arm.Has good range of motion of the wrist, no swelling.She no longer needs a wrist splint."

The condition of plaintiff's left wrist continued to improve during her tenure as checkout supervisor, although Dr. Zum Brunnen noted definite symptoms of nerve problems which might later require neurolysis--removal of the scar around the nerve.

Plaintiff's condition subsequently deteriorated to some degree, as the injury to her left ankle--which had been sustained on July 8 and had previously remained relatively dormant--began to cause her pain.Thus Dr. Zum Brunnen noted on November 17, 1982, that plaintiff registered

"complaints about the left ankle from her previous injury....There is tenderness in the distal tibial fibular joint....The patient may have some chronic persistance of tendonitis....The area was injected with 1cc of Celestone Soluspan and 2cc of Xylocaine....She was given a prescription for Tylenol # 3 for pain."

Dr. Zum Brunnen did not make any written recommendation at that time that plaintiff stop working.

Plaintiff was subsequently laid off her job at Wal-Mart on December 24, 1982.Plaintiff attributed her discharge from Wal-Mart's employ to absences that resulted from her injuries.Wal-Mart's managers testified, to the contrary, that plaintiff was laid off because of the reduced demand for retail employees subsequent to Christmas.

Plaintiff's condition continued to deteriorate, subsequent to her termination, as the injuries in both her left ankle and wrist grew increasingly painful and disabling.On December 29, 1982, Dr. Zum Brunnen observed, with respect to plaintiff's left wrist, that plaintiff

"is having symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome on the left [wrist] with numbness in her hand, [with] pain going up her arm....The patient's symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, post traumatic, have not resolved....It may well be that she will require surgical treatment on it."

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the median nerve which supplies sensory and motor impulses to the hand becomes abnormally constricted by the sheath of ligament through which it flows, causing pain and numbness to the wrist and hand.

Dr. Zum Brunnen, on December 29th, noted, with respect to plaintiff's left ankle, that plaintiff

"cannot stand as much as five hours a day on the left ankle because of pain....She has tenderness anterolaterally over the ankle.Again, the ankle was injected ... with 1cc of Celestone and 2ccs of Xylocaine."

Dr. Zum Brunnen found that plaintiff"is unable to work in her present condition until this problem is resolved."Dr. Zum Brunnen also stated that plaintiff"has been taken off her employment and is unable to be gainfully employed for an indefinite period of time because of wrist and ankle injuries."

Plainti...