Simpson v. Indopco, Inc.
| Decision Date | 04 April 2000 |
| Parties | (Mo.App. W.D. 2000) Howard Simpson, Appellant, v. Indopco, Inc. D/B/A National Starch and Chemical Company, Inc. WD57149 0 |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Appeal From: Circuit Court of Caldwell County, Hon. Kenneth R. Lewis
Counsel for Appellant: Jerrold Kenter
Counsel for Respondent: Mark Eugene Johnson
Opinion Summary: Howard Simpson appeals the trial court's grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) in favor of Indopco, Inc., d/b/a National Starch and Chemical Company, Inc. (National Starch) on Simpson's malicious prosecution claim. Simpson contends National Starch failed to provide accurate, complete and potentially exculpatory information to the Fraud Unit of the Division of Worker's Compensation, which caused criminal worker's compensation fraud charges to be filed against Simpson.
Division Two holds: Simpson's medical records and physician statements indicated the injuries for which Simpson claimed worker's compensation benefits were related to Simpson's farming activities. Simpson has failed to establish the absence of probable cause as an element of his malicious prosecution action against National Starch.
Howard Simpson appeals from the trial court's grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) in favor of Indopco, Inc., d/b/a National Starch and Chemical Company, Inc. (National Starch) on Mr. Simpson's malicious prosecution claim. Mr. Simpson contends that National Starch failed to provide accurate, complete and potentially exculpatory information to the Fraud Unit of the Division of Workers' Compensation, which caused criminal charges to be filed against Mr. Simpson. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Mr. Simpson is an employee of National Starch. He filed two workers' compensation claims arising out of a 1992 recurrent hernia and a 1993 back injury. His hernia was first diagnosed and treated in 1991 by Dr. Lawrence Evans. National Starch paid for all of Mr. Simpson's medical treatment related to the hernia repair. In 1992, the hernia recurred and Dr. Evans again treated Mr. Simpson. Dr. Evan's medical records from the 1992 visit stated that Mr. Simpson's hernia recurred when "he was working on a tractor and had a flat tire on his tractor and had to work on it and since that time has developed a bulge in the left which hurts when he gets up and down [sic] his leg."
On September 3, 1993, Mr. Simpson reported to his supervisor that he experienced pain in his lower back while he was working shoveling wet feed at National Starch. The supervisor filled out an internal National Starch injury report at that time. Mr. Simpson did not seek medical treatment at that time but sought medical treatment for his back from his personal physician, Dr. Lester McDonald, approximately four weeks later. Dr. McDonald's medical records stated that Mr. Simpson complained of back pain that resulted from lifting and building a farrowing house. A few days later Mr. Simpson went to the emergency room due to back pain. The medical records from the hospital indicated that Mr. Simpson reported he was lifting a gate at his farm and developed a sudden onset of pain.
National Starch's worker's compensation case manager, Nurse Jim French, spoke on his car phone to Mr. Simpson after the worker's compensation claim for the back injury was filed. His notes reported that Mr. Simpson first noticed pain when working on the farrowing barn for his hogs. Nurse French arranged an appointment for Mr. Simpson to be seen by Dr. Americo Ramos, National Starch's company physician. After examining Mr. Simpson and reviewing Mr. Simpson's medical records, Dr. Ramos drafted a letter indicating that Mr. Simpson had hurt his back several times, twice by working on his farm. Mr. Simpson was working with his hogs on one of those occasions and was lifting a gate at his farm the second time. National Starch also arranged for Mr. Simpson to see Dr. Michael Poppa, who also reported that Mr. Simpson's right hip, back, and leg began hurting him while working on the farm with his wife.
After reviewing Mr. Simpson's worker's compensation claims for the hernia and back injury, including the various medical records from physicians who treated or saw Mr. Simpson, National Starch deposed Mr. Simpson. After Mr. Simpson denied telling his physicians that he was injured while working on his farm during his deposition, National Starch deposed the physicians who saw Mr. Simpson. In February 1995, National Starch filed a complaint pursuant to section 287.128.6, RSMo 1994, with the Fraud Unit of the Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation (Fraud Unit) and forwarded the following documentation along with the complaint: Mr. Simpson's deposition, the depositions of three of the physicians who treated or saw Mr. Simpson, the medical records from the three physicians and the hospital, the report of National Starch's reviewing physician, and the report by National Starch's worker's compensation case manager. National Starch, however, did not send National Starch's internal company injury report completed by Mr. Simpson's supervisor on September 3, 1993, the group health insurance claim form filled out by Mr. Simpson's wife, or Dr. Ramos' patient intake form to the Fraud Unit. These documents supported Mr. Simpson's claim that his injuries were work related. National Starch also did not list Mr. Simpson's supervisor and one of Mr. Simpson's co-workers as witnesses on the fraud complaint form. Mr. Simpson's supervisor and co-worker would have testified to Mr. Simpson's September 3, 1993, reported work-related back injury.
The Fraud Unit thereafter referred the case to the office of the Missouri Attorney General. The Attorney General filed a misdemeanor information charging Mr. Simpson with four counts of knowingly making a false material representation on May 3, 1995, for the purpose of obtaining worker's compensation benefits. National Starch forwarded a copy of the September 3, 1993, injury report, filed by Mr. Simpson's supervisor, to the Assistance Attorney General on May 8, 1995. The Assistant Attorney General then filed an Amended Information charging Simpson with four courts of misdemeanor worker's compensation fraud.
The criminal charges against Mr. Simpson were tried as a non-jury case, and Mr. Simpson was found not guilty on all counts. Mr. Simpson thereafter filed the malicious prosecution action against National Starch. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, and again at the close of all the evidence, National Starch moved for a directed verdict on the malicious prosecution count. The court overruled both motions. At the close of the trial, the jury returned a verdict against National Starch and in favor of Mr. Simpson in the amount of $300,000 in...
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