Southern Convalescent Home v. Wilson

• Decision Date: 07 November 1973
• Docket Number: No. 43569,43569
• Citation: 285 So.2d 404
• Court: Florida Supreme Court
• Parties: SOUTHERN CONVALESCENT HOME and R. P. Hewitt & Associates, Servicing Agent, Petitioners, v. John WILSON and Florida Department of Commerce, Industrial Relations Commission, Respondents.

Page 404

285 So.2d 404

SOUTHERN CONVALESCENT HOME and R. P. Hewitt & Associates, Servicing Agent, Petitioners, v. John WILSON and Florida Department of Commerce, Industrial Relations Commission, Respondents.

No. 43569.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Nov. 7, 1973.

Robert H. Gregory, Coral Gables, for petitioners.

L. Barry Keyfetz, of Ser & Keyfetz, Miami, for respondents.

ROBERTS, Justice.

By petition for writ of certiorari, we have for review an order of the Industrial Relations Commission reversing and remanding this cause to the Judge of Industrial Claims.

While respondent-claimant was preparing to aid in lifting trays of food from the floor to another person on the stairs who in turn would then hand the trays of food to a Rosa Jones on the second floor, he fell to a level synthetic tile floor in an epileptic type seizure which lasted at least five minutes. During this time, his feet were in a stairwell alcove and his body was in the hall; he was unconscious, clamping with his mouth closed, eyes rolling to the top of his head, and spasms of his upper and lower extremities. Petitioner denied that respondent had sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment. An order was entered on August 17, 1970, by the Judge of Industrial Claims denying respondent's claim for temporary total disability benefits, medical expenses, permanent partial disability benefits, penalties, interest, and attorney's fees. Application for review was made and the Industrial Relations Commission by order dated April 26, 1971, reversed and remanded the cause to the trial judge with authority to hold further hearings, if deemed necessary, to make specific findings of fact as to the nature of the floor and as to whether the injuries complained of were the result of the condition of the floor upon which claimant fell, and to enter a new order. Petitioners petitioned this Court for writ of certiorari to review the Commission's order. This petition was denied by this Court by order dated September 1, 1971.

On remand, further hearing was held before the judge, at which hearing Dr. Elwin Neal, Mr. Sheldon Roe, an engineer, and Dr. Bernard Chariff testified. Based on the additional testimony and evidence produced at the previous hearing, the Judge of Industrial Claims entered a second order denying respondent's claim and therein, made a precise determination as to what constituted the efficient cause of claimant's injury. In this order the judge stated in pertinent part, as follows:

'5. I hereby accept the opinion of Shirley Schachter, Administrator of Southern Convalescent Home and a registered nurse, that John Wilson was undergoing an epileptic seizure, and that in the course of her employment as a registered nurse she had seen numerous epileptic attacks prior to this, and when she saw what was happening she got a mouth gag and went to the claimant's aid to help him recover from the seizure.

'7. I accept the opinion of Dr. Bernard Chariff that the claimant would have suffered injuries to the same extent had the floor to which he had fallen been 'softer' that (sic) it was at the time of the fall. It was the opinion of Dr. Chariff that the 'softness' or 'hardness' of the floor did not affect the extent of the claimant's injuries.

'8. That the efficient cause of the claimant's injuries was due to the epileptic seizure and the employment conditions of the flooring did not contribute any hazard that led to the claimant's injuries. There was not any hazard of employment that contributed in any degree to the claimant's injuries and it was solely the force of the non-occupational epileptic seizure that caused the injury of which the claimant complained. The cause of the harm to the claimant was personal and due to the epileptic seizure.

'9. The injury sustained by the claimant arose out of a risk or condition personal to him and did not arise out of his employment as his employment and the old synthetic tile flooring did not contribute to the risk of his employment or place the claimant in a position increasing the effects of such a seizure.

'10. It is further found that John Wilson's obligation of employment did not put him in a position where the consequences of an epileptic seizure would be more dangerous than if he had not been so employed. The claimant was not placed in a position which increased the effects of the fall like a height or near machinery or in a moving vehicle, but was merely standing on an old synthetic tile floor when the unfortunate seizure commenced. The origin of the fall was personal to the claimant; that is, the seizure was the cause of the fall and the injuries sustained were brought about while the claimant was in the seizure.

'11. I hereby find that the cause of the claimant's injuries was the convulsive seizure and not the fall to the old synthetic tile floor.'

The Industrial Relations Commission in a two to one decision reversed this order and remanded to the judge for entry of a new order. In reversing, the Commission concluded that there was not competent substantial evidence to support the findings of the judge that the floor did not constitute a 'hazard of employment' which contributed to the claimant's injury, and that respondent's injuries were solely due to the force of the epileptic seizure. This conclusion of the Commission is incorrect.

We agree with Commissioner Coleman who dissented from the Commission's order and properly concluded that this case presents an ordinary case of competent substantial evidence and that the questioned order of the Judge of Industrial Claims did contain findings which were fully supported by competent substantial evidence. Clearly supported by the record of evidence before this Court, Commissioner Coleman evaluating each finding and finding supportive evidence therefor, stated, inter alia, as follows:

'The first part of Paragraph 8 is that the condition of the flooring did not contribute any hazard that led to the claimant's injuries. Dr. Chariff's testimony confirms this--the Judge relied upon it. Furthermore, the engineer's testimony, Mr. Roe, was that the floor was softer than a concrete floor. This, I think we can accept in view of the fact that the evidence shows it was old vinyl tile on top of a wood floor, which certainly has more resiliency than concrete. The Judge then found that there was not any hazard of employment that contributed in any degree to the claimant's injuries and it was solely the force of the nonoccupational seizure that caused the injury of which the claimant complained. The cause of the harm to the claimant was personal and due to the epileptic seizure. The evidence shows that Dr. Neal testified: 'It would seem that his convulsions were the cause of his fall and the fall resulted in a neck and back sprain, due to the convulsive seizure. In other words, the convulsive seizures were the cause of the neck and back sprain.'

'Paragraph 9 of the...