Sparks v. Tulane Medical Center Hosp. and Clinic

• Decision Date: 19 June 1989
• Docket Number: No. 89-C-0077,89-C-0077
• Citation: 546 So.2d 138
• Parties: Sedonia W. SPARKS v. TULANE MEDICAL CENTER HOSPITAL AND CLINIC.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 138

546 So.2d 138

58 USLW 2040

Sedonia W. SPARKS v. TULANE MEDICAL CENTER HOSPITAL AND CLINIC.

No. 89-C-0077.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

June 19, 1989.

Rehearing Denied Sept.11, 1989.

Edward Rodrigue, Robert Baudouin, Boggs, Loehn & Rodrigue, New Orleans, for applicant.

Dale Wilks, New Orleans, for respondent.

CALOGERO, Justice ^*.

The Louisiana Worker's Compensation Act provides coverage to any employee who suffers "personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment." La.R.S. 23:1031(emphasis added). We have previously determined that mental injury induced by physical trauma and physical injury induced by mental stress are compensable "personal injuries" under the Act.

The primary issue presented in this case, heretofore not addressed by this Court, is whether a mental injury induced by mental stress is compensable when it is caused by a significant employment incident and is not accompanied by any apparent signs of physical trauma.

Plaintiff Sedonia Sparks seeks worker's compensation benefits from her employer, Tulane Medical Center, on the ground that threats by co-employees against her personal safety, made after she had already been the victim of a number of incidents of harassment and vandalism perpetrated by co-employees, caused her to suffer a disabling mental injury. After trial on the merits, the district court denied her claim for benefits. The trial judge found that the plaintiff did in fact suffer a temporarily disabling mental injury, but denied her claim for the reason that there was no "accident" under La.R.S. 23:1031. The court of appeal reversed and awarded plaintiff benefits for a five month period of disability. 537 So.2d 276 (La.App. 4th Cir.1988). We granted this writ to review the judgment of the court of appeal. 538 So.2d 580 (La.1989).

We now affirm the court of appeal judgment awarding plaintiff worker's compensation benefits. We find that plaintiff proved by a preponderance of the evidence that she suffered a disabling injury which was caused by an "accident," i.e., an unexpected and sudden employment incident. As further discussed below, we also find that plaintiff's mental injury is compensable even though it was not accompanied by any apparent signs of physical trauma.

(I) FACTS

Plaintiff was hired by Tulane Medical Center in 1980. Her initial employment position was "exchange card supervisor," and her duties related to distribution of medical supplies throughout the medical center complex. In 1984 she was promoted to manager of the hospital's distribution center, a position which required her to supervise about ten employees. She held that position until April 6, 1987, when she stopped working because of the injury complained of in this lawsuit.

On April 6, 1987, plaintiff learned that her personal safety had been threatened by other employees at the medical center. The testimony was as follows regarding a series of unusual events leading up to the threats and the manner in which the threats were conveyed to her.

Shortly after plaintiff first began working at the medical center, she observed that other employees were smoking marijuana on a regular basis in the medical supply storeroom. She took steps to try to eliminate this practice, including talking with her supervisor and establishing a designated smoking area. These efforts caused resentment among some of her co-employees. On another occasion she observed an employee, Calvin Green, exchanging a small white package with a woman. Believing that this may have been an illegal drug exchange, she warned Green about using drugs on the premises.

As early as 1982, theft of property from the storeroom, including some property belonging to plaintiff, became a frequent occurrence. On at least two occasions someone stole all of the employee timecards. On other occasions someone urinated in plaintiff's coffee pot and in an office waste basket. There were also incidents of vandalism in which water was poured into supply bins, ruining medical supplies.

Plaintiff's testimony as to these events was corroborated by the testimony of other employees and reports from the medical center's security office. While the incidences of vandalism and theft were spread over a period of years, they occurred with disturbing frequency and regularity. Many of the events appeared to be designed to harass or intimidate plaintiff. As far as can be ascertained from the record, the persons responsible were not apprehended.

The record reflects that by April, 1987, there was increasing tension between plaintiff and one Eddie Spillers, the supervisor of the weekend crew which worked in the storeroom. The weekend crew was responsible for stocking the shelves of the supply room with supplies that would be needed for the following week. Plaintiff believed that the weekend workers were not doing their jobs and said so openly at a staff meeting held sometime during the week preceding Monday, April 6, 1987. The weekend employees resented plaintiff's complaints. On the weekend of April 4-5, 1987, two of the weekend employees, Calvin Green (the employee plaintiff had previously confronted about drug use) and Terry Givens, decided to "protest" against plaintiff by not stocking the shelves of the supply room.

Upon arriving at work on Monday April 6, 1987 and discovering that the weekend workers had not stocked the supply room, plaintiff met with Spillers and her supervisor Harold Davis. Davis indicated that the employees who stocked the shelves should be suspended for five days. Plaintiff testified that Spillers then told her that if the employees were suspended, "they were really going to get me." Spillers did not remember using those words but did recall telling plaintiff during this meeting that "a lot of people around here want to kick your butt." Spillers testified that when he told plaintiff this, he was referring to the fact that he had overheard other employees threatening plaintiff. At trial, he could not, or would not, identify those employees by name.

Plaintiff testified that she was very frightened and upset upon learning that other employees had threatened her safety. She took seriously the possibility that the week-end employees, one of whom she had confronted regarding illegal drug use in the past, would "get her" if they were suspended. Plaintiff asked Davis to report to security the fact that threats had been made. He refused to do so. Plaintiff then took it upon herself to report the threats to security.

At around noon that day (April 6, 1987) plaintiff left work, complaining that she was too upset to perform her duties. She also testified that she was experiencing severe headaches. She went home and was unable to sleep. Her headache continued. The next day she called Dr. Dwight Green, an internist who had treated her on a few previous occasions for sinus headaches.

Dr. Green testified that plaintiff was crying and upset when she called him on April 7. He examined plaintiff later that day and she related to him that she "was having some stress problems due to confrontations with certain people at work," and that she felt she was being harassed because she had reported some employees for not doing their jobs properly. Dr. Green's diagnosis was that plaintiff "was suffering from tension headaches, which were probably related to a depressive reaction she had as a result of the stress she was encountering at work." Dr. Green prescribed anti-anxiety medication and non-narcotic medication for the headaches. He recommended that plaintiff rest at home for one or two weeks before returning to work.

Two weeks later Dr. Green saw plaintiff for a follow-up visit. She had not returned to work and was still complaining of headaches, as well as depression, insomnia and loss of appetite. Dr. Green referred her to a psychiatrist, Dr. Roniger, for treatment of her continuing depression. Dr. Green later saw plaintiff for seven follow-up visits, the last of which was October 13, 1987. Dr. Green expressed the opinion that plaintiff's tension headaches were related to whatever problems she was having at work. He also expressed the opinion that plaintiff was "not able to function" or work during the period that he treated her (April-October, 1987) because of severe tension headaches.

Dr. Roniger testified that he examined plaintiff on two occasions, May 1, 1987 and May 19, 1987. Plaintiff told him that she had been under stress at work which made her feel "helpless and afraid." She also complained of headaches and other symptoms that had been noted by Dr. Green. Dr. Roniger performed a mental status examination on plaintiff and reached the conclusion that she was suffering from an "adjustment disorder," a condition which he described as a depressed mood arising from difficulty adjusting to a specific situation that is particularly stressful. Dr. Roniger felt that this condition was "definitely job related" and was serious enough to warrant extensive counselling. He referred her for counselling to one of his assistants, Emily Jahncke, a clinical social worker. Dr. Roniger felt that plaintiff was disabled by "whatever was happening to her at her place of work," although he was unsure of the duration of her disability because he only saw her on two occasions.

Ms. Jahncke counselled plaintiff on a regular basis from April through October, 1987. She testified that plaintiff told her that she had been threatened at work. Ms. Jahncke observed that in the initial stages of treatment, plaintiff was so upset that she could hardly walk. Plaintiff told Ms. Jahncke that she was very depressed, had constant headaches, was not sleeping well and was having nightmares. Plaintiff related these problems to her employment, explaining that she had been so frightened by events there that she had stopped working and was staying at home, spending most of her time on her sofa. Ms. Jahncke testified that plaintiff's condition slowly improved...