Richard v. Temple-Inland

• Decision Date: 06 October 1993
• Docket Number: D,TEMPLE-INLAN,No. 93-165,93-165
• Citation: 625 So.2d 335
• Parties: Rickey RICHARD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v.efendant-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 335

625 So.2d 335

Rickey RICHARD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TEMPLE-INLAND, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 93-165.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana Third Circuit.

Oct. 6, 1993.

Larry B. Minton, Alexandria, for Rickey Richard.

Charles V. Musso Jr., Lake Charles, for Temple-Inland.

Before STOKER, LABORDE and YELVERTON, JJ.

STOKER, Judge.

In this case we reverse the administrative hearing officer's finding that plaintiff sustained no on the job injury entitling him to worker's compensation. We reverse because the hearing officer failed to follow proper legal principles.

The hearing officer wrote no reasons for judgment but indicated in his judgment that he found that plaintiff failed to prove that an accident occurred based on his conclusion that plaintiff was not a credible witness. From our review of the record we find that plaintiff's testimony that he injured himself in an accident while in defendant's employment was really not contradicted. We conclude that the hearing officer failed to follow the legal principles governing the required proof in such circumstances as laid down in West v. Bayou Vista Manor, Inc., 371 So.2d 1146 (La.1979) and Bruno v. Harbert International, Inc., 593 So.2d 357 (La.1992). Accordingly, we reverse and remand the case for further proceedings.

Rickey Richard filed this workers' compensation claim against his employer, Temple-Inland, contending that on October 8, 1990, he injured his back in the course and scope of his employment when he was attempting to unstack and uncross wood on a conveyor belt near the station where he was working. The administrative hearing officer denied the claim, stating in part in his judgment:

"Claimant failed to prove that a compensable accident occurred as alleged on October 8, 1990. He simply lacked credibility. For example, on the Report of Accident (Exhibit D-7), claimant listed Wilson Chapman as a witness to the accident. At trial, Mr. Chapman denied any knowledge of an accident. The record is full of other examples of false statements made by the claimant, like the incorrect medical information he gave to Dr. Georgiades (Exhibit D-4). Furthermore, at the time of the accident, claimant was on the verge of being fired (See, Exhibit D-5, under Finding of Fact). The Court believes that if claimant's back condition is such that he should not perform the pre-injury duties, it is a result of a condition that pre-existed the date of the alleged injury."

From the judgment in favor of defendant, Richard appeals.

BACKGROUND

Prior to his employment with defendant, plaintiff worked for Harkin Marketing Company from November 1988 until April 27, 1990. In September 1989, while working for Harkin, plaintiff apparently injured his lower back unloading barrels of oil. Dr. Richard Kibler, chiropractor, treated plaintiff for this injury from September 25, 1989, until February 26, 1990, at which time plaintiff's file was marked "released, maximum medical chiropractic improvement." During the time of his injury and treatment, plaintiff continued to work, and Harkin Marketing Co. paid his medical bills.

Also prior to his employment with defendant, on March 1, 1990, plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident. Plaintiff returned to Dr. Kibler for treatment. Dr. Kibler testified that he examined plaintiff on March 2, 1990, and found that plaintiff had problems in his cervical spine and low back. Dr. Kibler testified that plaintiff was still under his care for this injury at the time of the alleged accident giving rise to this suit.

Plaintiff began working for defendant on April 27, 1990, as a lumber separator. Apparently, this job included manually moving lumber, at least occasionally, if it crossed or jammed after coming out of the board edger and gang saw.

On October 8, 1990, plaintiff went to work at 3:30 p.m. for the 3:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. shift. Plaintiff testified that he and Wilson Chapman, the trimming operator, were working together. According to plaintiff, a little after 4:00 p.m. their first jam up occurred. Plaintiff and Chapman unjammed the lumber on the transfer deck and started again. There was another jam up within a few minutes. Plaintiff stated that after unjamming the lumber for the second time, he noticed a little pain in the lower part of his back. A third jam up occurred a little after 5:00 p.m. Plaintiff testified that after unjamming the lumber and starting up again, he noticed he was really hurting on his left side, lower back.

Plaintiff testified that he continued to work until about 6:20 or 6:30, at which time he informed his supervisor, Jim Henson. Plaintiff testified that he left work at 8:30 or 8:40 p.m. (before completing his shift).

Henson filled out an accident report on plaintiff the day after the alleged accident, October 9, 1990. However, Henson's testimony contradicted plaintiff's testimony in that Henson denied that plaintiff reported the accident to him on the day that it allegedly occurred.

OPINION

LSA-R.S. 23:1021(1) defines accident as follows:

"(1) 'Accident' means an unexpected or unforeseen actual, identifiable, precipitous event happening suddenly or violently, with or without human fault, and directly producing at the time objective findings of an injury which is more than simply a gradual deterioration or progressive degeneration."

Amended by Acts 1989, No. 454, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1990.

In Rice v. AT & T, 614 So.2d 358 (La.App. 2d Cir.1993), the second circuit concluded that where a worker suffers from a gradually deteriorating or progressively degenerative condition, the legislature did not intend to limit the definition of accident (as amended by Acts 1989, No. 454, Sec. 1) to only extraordinary exertions. The court concluded that "the term accident now includes a weakened condition which collapses due to a precipitous event, but does not include a weakened condition which gradually degenerates over time.... the key requirement under the amended definition of accident is that the event directly produced sudden objective findings of an injury rather than being merely a manifestation of a gradual deterioration or progressive degeneration." 614 So.2d at 361.

The court in Rice found that an accident occurred where the plaintiff, who had a history of back troubles, testified that she felt a tightness in her back as a result of attempting to push her chair closer to the assembly line while at the same time twisting and turning to reach parts to be installed. The court in Dyson v. State Emp. Group Ben. Program, 610 So.2d 953 (La.App. 1st Cir.1992) found that an accident occurred where plaintiff testified that she began feeling very light pain in her feet approximately one month after taking on her new responsibilities which required her to stand all day except during breaks and further testified that she felt very sharp pain "shoot" through her feet as she turned or pivoted to pick up a large bundle of copies. But see Smith v. UNR Home Products, 607 So.2d 898 (La.App. 2d Cir.1992), reversed on other grounds and remanded, 614 So.2d 54 (La.1993).

In the case before us, accepting plaintiff's testimony as true, we find that the incident plaintiff described meets the definition of "accident" as amended by Acts 1989, No. 454 Sec. 1.

However, the hearing officer did not find plaintiff credible. The plaintiff-worker in a compensation action has the burden of establishing a work-related accident by a preponderance of the evidence. Bruno v. Harbert Intern., Inc., supra. A worker's testimony alone may be sufficient to discharge this burden of proof, provided two elements are satisfied: (1) no other evidence discredits or casts serious doubt upon the worker's version of the incident; and (2) the worker's testimony is corroborated by the circumstances following the alleged incident. Bruno, supra. In evaluating the evidence, the trier of fact should accept as true the uncontradicted testimony of a witness, even though the witness is a party, at least in the absence of circumstances in the record casting suspicion on the reliability of this testimony. West v. Bayou Vista Manor, Inc., supra; Bruno, supra. The reviewing court must give great weight to the factual conclusions arrived at by the trier of fact, and reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed even though the appellate court may feel that its own evaluations and inferences are as reasonable. Cadiere v. West Gibson Products Co., Inc., 364 So.2d 998 (La.1978); West, supra. However, where documents or objective evidence so contradict the witness's story, or the story itself is so internally inconsistent or implausible on its face that a reasonable fact finder would not credit the witness's story, the court of appeal may well find manifest error or clear wrongness even in a finding purportedly based upon a credibility determination. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989). In West, supra, the supreme court identified a third factor that limits the deference due the trier of fact: "the appellate court is not required by [the manifest error/clearly wrong] principle to affirm the trier of fact's refusal to accept as credible uncontradicted testimony ... where the record indicates no sound reason for its rejection and where the factual finding itself has been reached by overlooking applicable legal principles." West, supra, 371 So.2d at 1150; Bruno, supra, 593 So.2d at 361.

The hearing officer listed two examples of false statements made by plaintiff to support his finding that plaintiff lacked credibility:

1. Plaintiff listed Wilson Chapman on the accident report (D-7) as a witness to the accident. At the hearing, however, Chapman denied any knowledge of an accident. Therefore, the hearing officer found that plaintiff made a false statement, casting doubt on his credibility.

The accident report is a preprinted form with spaces for witness' names. Plaintiff supplied Chapman's name to Henson, who filled out the...