Brown v. Deal's Carpet Care

867 So. 2d 762, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 3075, 2003 WL 22518945
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 7, 2003
DocketNo. 2003 CA 0196
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 867 So. 2d 762 (Brown v. Deal's Carpet Care) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. Deal's Carpet Care, 867 So. 2d 762, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 3075, 2003 WL 22518945 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

I .WHIPPLE, J.

Defendant, Deal’s Carpet Care, appeals from a judgment of the Office of Workers’ Compensation in favor of William Brown, awarding him medical expenses incurred as a result of a detached retina. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 10, 2000, William Brown, who was employed by Deal’s Carpet Care as a carpet technician, was performing a “pet treatment” in an apartment unit. To accomplish this task, Brown was using a two-gallon pump sprayer containing Clorox, citric cleaner and water. As Brown was pumping the sprayer to pressurize the contents, the seal around the cap of the spray container failed, causing the contents of the sprayer to shoot upward through the cap, striking him in the face and eyes.

[764]*764Immediately after the accident, Brown began experiencing burning in his eyes and, thus, flushed his face and eyes with water. Brown then radioed for assistance, and, shortly thereafter, Chip Deal, Brown’s supervisor, arrived at the apartment complex and assisted him in completing the job. Brown then reported back to the office to continue cleaning himself up. At the office, he related what had occurred to Mr. Deal, and Mr. Deal then told him to take the afternoon off.

For a period of a few days to a week following the accident, Brown continued to have a burning sensation in his eyes. He also noted some fuzziness in his vision. Brown assumed that these symptoms were caused by residual chemicals on his contact lenses, and, thus, he repeatedly cleaned his contacts in an attempt to clear up these problems. By December, Brown began to notice that he could not see his nose out of his right eye and instead could only see a black area. Again, Brown believed this was a contact-|relateds problem. However, he did not purchase a new pair of contacts or see an eye doctor at that time for financial reasons.

By January of 2001, the area to the left side of Brown’s right eye where he was experiencing loss of peripheral vision had widened, and Brown was also starting to have problems with depth perception and reduced vision in low light. Thus, when Brown subsequently lost his right contact lens in early February 2001, he made an appointment with Dr. Lawrence Aderhold, an optometrist, to obtain new contacts and also to determine the cause of the problems he was experiencing with his vision.1

When Dr. Aderhold examined Brown on February 6, 2001, he diagnosed Brown as suffering from a detached retina of the right eye. The following day, Brown was examined by Dr. John Couvillion, an ophthalmologist, who recommended surgery to repair the retinal detachment. According to Brown, he contacted both Mr. and Mrs. Deal of Deal’s Carpet Care in an attempt to have the surgery approved; however, they both hung up on him and would not give him any information about the company’s insurance carrier.

Thereafter, on February 12, 2001, Brown underwent a double surgical procedure that combined a sceleral buckle and vitrectomy to repair the retinal detachment, which was performed at Tulane Medical Center by Dr. Douglas Babel, an ophthalmologist. In July 2001, Brown developed a second retinal detachment because of scar tissue that had developed during recovery from surgery. Thus, on July 18, 2001, he underwent a second surgical procedure to correct the detachment.

^Subsequent to the second surgery, Brown filed a disputed claim for compensation, seeking reimbursement of the medical expenses he had incurred as a result of the retinal detachment. Following a hearing, the workers’ compensation judge found as a fact that Brown had a preexisting degenerative condition of the eye that was asymptomatic before the accident, but that became symptomatic shortly after the accident. Thus, the workers’ compensation judge concluded that, pursuant to Peveto v. WHC Contractors, 93-1402, p. 2 (La.1/14/94), 630 So.2d 689, 691, Brown was entitled to a legal presumption that the retinal detachment was causally related to the work accident.

With regard to the employer’s burden of overcoming the presumption, the workers’ compensation judge described the burden [765]*765as “very difficult” and “phenomenal” and stated that it was a “very heightened burden of proof.” The workers’ compensation judge further interpreted Peveto as holding that the burden placed on the employer required the employer to establish that there was “absolutely no correlation” between the accident and the employee’s condition or that such a causal connection was “impossible.” The workers’ compensation judge thus concluded that if there.were “even a remote possibility” of causation, the employer would not be able to overcome the presumption of causation. She additionally stated as follows: “So, I mean, I have to tell you, I think that unless the medical field is completely just adamant that it’s impossible to have any connection, I’m stuck with that jurisprudence [Peveto ] unless the Supreme Court can enlighten me better on it.”

Thus, the workers’ compensation judge concluded that, given the opinion of Brown’s treating physician, there was a “reasonably good possibility” of causation, Deal’s Carpet Care was unable to overcome the | spresumption of causation. Accordingly, she rendered judgment in favor of Brown, awarding him medical expenses related to the retinal tear.

From this judgment, Deal’s Carpet Care appeals, contending that the workers’ compensation judge:

(1) Committed legal error by applying an incorrect burden of proof against the employer;
(2) erred in finding that Brown had a compensable work injury;
(3) erred in finding that Brown’s preexisting condition was aggravated and/or exacerbated by his work-related accident;
(4) erred in finding that Brown was entitled to workers’ compensation medical benefits;
(5) erred in finding that Deal’s Carpet Care failed to sufficiently rebut the presumption of causation;
(6) erred in finding that Brown’s July 2001 surgery was related to the work accident; and
(7) erred in assessing costs of the July 2001 surgery against Deal’s Carpet Care.

CAUSATION

(Assignments of Error Nos. 1-5)

In these assignments of error, Deal’s Carpet Care contends that the workers’ compensation judge erred as a matter of law by applying a heightened burden of proof with regard to the employer’s burden in overcoming the presumption of causation. Additionally, Deal’s contends that Brown failed to meet his burden of proof with regard to compensability or, alternatively, that Deal’s successfully rebutted any presumption of causation.

hAn employee in a workers’ compensation action has the burden of establishing a causal link between the accident and the subsequent disabling condition. Walton v. Normandy Village Homes Association, Inc., 475 So.2d 320, 324 (La.1985). Where the employee suffered from a preexisting medical condition, he may still prevail if he proves that the accident aggravated, accelerated or combined with the condition - or infirmity to produce death or the disability for which compensation is claimed. Peveto, 93-1402 at p. 2, 630 So.2d at 691. Moreover, in a case involving a pre-existing condition, the employee is aided by a presumption regarding causation.

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Bluebook (online)
867 So. 2d 762, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 3075, 2003 WL 22518945, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-deals-carpet-care-lactapp-2003.