City of Laurel v. Guy

58 So. 3d 1223, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 181, 2011 WL 1122674
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 29, 2011
DocketNo. 2010-WC-00444-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 58 So. 3d 1223 (City of Laurel v. Guy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Laurel v. Guy, 58 So. 3d 1223, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 181, 2011 WL 1122674 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

MAXWELL, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Although Gavin Guy suffered a 25% medical impairment to his left leg due to a work-related knee injury, the Administrative Judge (AJ) awarded him a 100% industrial loss of his left leg. The Workers’ Compensation Commission (Commission) affirmed. Because industrial loss, in contrast to medical loss, compensates for the loss in wage-earning capacity and because Guy presently earns $10,000 more a year, we find the award of 100% industrial loss to be unsupportable. Therefore, we reverse and remand the decision of the Commission.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2. While working as a patrolmen for the Laurel Police Department (Laurel), Guy injured his left knee apprehending a suspect fleeing from a nightclub brawl. He underwent numerous knee surgeries. Although he remained employed with Laurel, briefly as a K-9 officer and then back as a patrolman, he was concerned because [1225]*1225he could no longer chase suspects or easily get in and out of his patrol car.

¶ 3. In 2006, Guy voluntarily left Laurel to take a job with the Petal Police Department (Petal) as a warrant officer. He was promoted to the Investigations Unit, a position that paid $10,000 a year more than his former position with Laurel. In 2007, Petal initiated physical testing for all its police officers, including Guy. Petal’s chief of police, Lee Shelbourn, accommodated Guy’s knee injury by allowing him to perform the test on a stationary bike instead of requiring him to run.

¶ 4. At the hearing before the AJ, Guy expressed concerns that his accommodation at Petal would not last long. Chief Shelbourn, sixty-one years old at the time of the hearing, was an at-will employee who potentially would not be reappointed by the mayor and city council after the next city election cycle. Further, Guy was concerned he might not be able to pass the bike test in the future.

¶ 5. The AJ found Guy’s numerous knee surgeries, his inability to continue as a patrol officer, and his need for special accommodation to pass the physical test given by Petal and most police forces all supported the finding that Guy had sustained a 100% industrial loss to his left leg.

¶ 6. The AJ found Guy’s present employment and higher salary did not weigh against finding a 100% industrial loss of Guy’s left leg because Chief Shelbourn could be replaced after next city election, leaving the possibility that Guy might be unable to pass the physical testing requirements under a new chief at Petal or with a different police force.

¶ 7. Both the Workers’ Compensation Commission (by 2-1 vote) and the circuit court affirmed the AJ’s decision.

LAW

I. Standard of Review

¶ 8. “The findings and order of the Workers’ Compensation Commission are binding on the Court so long as they are ‘supported by substantial evidence.’ ” Mitchell Buick v. Cash, 592 So.2d 978, 980 (Miss.1991) (quoting Fought v. Stuart C. Irby Co., 523 So.2d 314, 317 (Miss.1988)). “An appellate court is bound even though the evidence would convince that court otherwise if it were instead the ultimate fact finder.” Walker Mfg. Co. v. Butler, 740 So.2d 315, 320 (¶19) (Miss.Ct.App.1998) (citing Barnes v. Jones Lumber Co., 637 So.2d 867, 869 (Miss.1994)). “This Court will overturn a Commission decision only for an error of law or an unsupportable finding of fact.” Id. (quoting Ga. Pac. Corp. v. Taplin, 586 So.2d 823, 826 (Miss.1991)).

II. Workers’ Compensation Act A. Total v. Partial Disability

¶ 9. The Mississippi’s Workers’ Compensation Act compensates for both permanent total disability and permanent partial disability (scheduled-member). Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-17 (Rev.2000).

¶ 10. If a worker suffers permanent total disability, the statute provides him two thirds of his average weekly wage, subject to the maximum limit of benefits, for up to 450 weeks. Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-17(a). If a worker suffers the loss of a scheduled-member, the statute provides him two thirds of his average weekly wage for the number of weeks arbitrarily assigned by the Legislature to the particular body part. Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-17(c). Loss of a leg equals 200 weeks of compensation. Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-17(c)(2).

¶ 11. The purpose of permanent total disability is to compensate for loss of [1226]*1226wage-earning capacity and not the worker’s medical disability. Smith v. Jackson Const. Co., 607 So.2d 1119, 1125 (Miss.1992) (citing Miss.Code Ann. § 71 — 3—B(j) (Rev.2000)). In contrast, compensation for scheduled-member disability is arbitrarily awarded according to which scheduled-member is disabled. Id. at 1126 (citing Walker Manuf. Co. v. Cantrell, 577 So.2d 1243, 1247-48 (Miss.1991)). In scheduled-member compensation, the focus is on the functional loss of the use of the body part “without regard to loss of wage earning capacity.” Id.

B. Loss of Scheduled Member

¶ 12. This is a scheduled-member case, controlled by section 71-8-17(c). Subsection 17(c) compensates for the loss of a scheduled member (e.g. amputation), the loss of use of a scheduled member (e.g. paralyzation), and partial loss of use. Miss.Code Ann. § 71-3-17(c)(2), (22), & (23). See Meridian Prof'l Baseball Club v. Jensen, 828 So.2d 740, 745 (¶12) (Miss.2002) (distinguishing loss, loss of use, and partial loss of use of scheduled members).

¶ 13. The law compensates for two types of loss of use: (1) “functional” or “medical” and (2) “industrial” or “occupational.” “ ‘Functional’ or ‘medical’ loss refers to physical impairment.” Jensen, 828 So.2d at 745 (¶ 11) (citing McGowan v. Orleans Furniture, Inc., 586 So.2d 163, 166 (Miss.1991)). “ ‘Industrial’ or ‘occupational’ loss is the functional or medical disability as it affects the claimant’s ability to perform the duties of employment.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). See Robinson v. Packard Elec. Div., Gen. Motors Corp., 523 So.2d 329, 331 (Miss.1988) (“[T]o establish industrial disability, the burden is upon the claimant to prove (1) medical impairment, and (2) that the medical impairment resulted in a loss of wage-earning capacity.”) (citing Miss.Code Ann. §§ 71-3-3®, 71-3-17(c)(25) (Rev.2000)).

¶ 14. In a scheduled-member case, a worker is always entitled to compensation for the medical or functional loss of his body part, regardless of whether the functional loss impacts his wage-earning capacity. Jensen, 828 So.2d at 745-46 (¶¶ 13-14). But the law recognizes there may be times when the industrial loss is greater than the medical loss. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
58 So. 3d 1223, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 181, 2011 WL 1122674, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-laurel-v-guy-missctapp-2011.