CONSOLIDATED CONST. CO. v. Quinlan

832 So. 2d 648, 2002 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 293, 2002 WL 598868
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedApril 19, 2002
Docket2001077
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 832 So. 2d 648 (CONSOLIDATED CONST. CO. v. Quinlan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
CONSOLIDATED CONST. CO. v. Quinlan, 832 So. 2d 648, 2002 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 293, 2002 WL 598868 (Ala. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 650

On May 1, 1997, John L. Quinlan suffered an on-the-job injury. Quinlan sued his employer, Consolidated Construction Company (hereinafter "Consolidated"), seeking workers' compensation benefits. Quinlan also filed a third-party action against a co-employee, which he settled for $7,500.

Consolidated answered and denied the material allegations of Quinlan's workers' compensation complaint. The trial court conducted an ore tenus hearing. On March 12, 2001, the trial court entered a judgment finding that Quinlan had suffered an on-the-job injury and that he had suffered a permanent total disability as a result of that injury. The judgment also ordered Consolidated to reimburse Quinlan for certain medical treatments for which he had not gotten Consolidated's authorization and credited Consolidated with $5,000, a portion of Quinlan's recovery in a separate action against a co-employee.

Both parties filed postjudgment motions. The trial court entered a postjudgment order amending its original judgment to find that Consolidated was entitled to offset its liability by $5,000, an amount approximately equivalent to Quinlan's net recovery from his third-party action. Consolidated appealed.

The record on appeal indicates that Quinlan began working for Consolidated in February 1997. Quinlan alleged that, on May 1, 1997, he was injured while operating a piece of equipment referred to as a "skidsteer," or "Bobcat." Quinlan testified that while he was operating the machine over rough terrain he was jolted out of the seat and into the back of the cage that surrounds the driver and then back down onto the seat. Quinlan testified that he experienced severe pain on the right side of his body shortly after the accident and that the accident caused the injuries that form the basis of his claim for workers' compensation benefits. Consolidated stipulated that Quinlan suffered an accident as that term is defined in the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act. See §25-5-1(7), Ala. Code 1975. The parties, however, dispute the extent of Quinlan's injuries.

Following the accident, Dr. Carol Watts treated Quinlan for his injury. Quinlan testified that at the time he sought treatment from Dr. Watts, he suffered from pain on the right side of his body, starting on the right side of his neck and continuing to his coccyx. He also claimed that he could not move his right arm. Quinlan testified that Dr. Watts placed his arm in a sling. Dr. Watts also prescribed a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator ("TENS") unit to treat his pain and allowed Quinlan to return to work. The record does not indicate whether Dr. Watts assigned Quinlan any work restrictions. Quinlan testified that he attempted to return to work, but that he could not perform his job duties because of his pain.

Quinlan became dissatisfied with Dr. Watts's treatment. He requested, pursuant to § 25-5-77(a), Ala. Code 1975, that he be allowed to select another authorized physician; Consolidated granted Quinlan's request. Quinlan selected Dr. Ira Denton, a neurosurgeon. In October 1997, Dr. Denton, who was retiring, referred Quinlan to Dr. Calame Sammons, an *Page 651 orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Sammons performed lumbar fusion surgery on Quinlan's back in November 1997. Dr. Sammons testified that that surgery was necessary because Quinlan had not responded to physical therapy and because Quinlan had a pre-existing abnormality in his back. Dr. Sammons testified that Quinlan reached maximum medical improvement on July 14, 1998, and that he had assigned Quinlan an impairment rating of 20% to the body as a whole. Quinlan testified that after his lumbar fusion surgery, he continued to suffer from low back pain and pain down his right side.

Dr. Sammons referred Quinlan to Dr. Morris L. Scherlis for treatment of his pain. Quinlan testified that the medical treatment he received from Dr. Scherlis did not resolve his pain. Quinlan testified that he again requested, pursuant to § 25-5-77(a), Ala. Code 1975, that he again be allowed to select, from a panel of four physicians, another authorized physician. Consolidated did not allow Quinlan to select another physician. Without obtaining authorization from Consolidated, Quinlan sought treatment from Dr. Kenneth Dean Willis.

Dr. Willis gave Quinlan a series of injections to his right lumbosacral spine. Quinlan testified that when those injections did not alleviate his pain, Dr. Willis implanted a morphine pump in his stomach. Quinlan testified that at the time of the hearing in this matter, he was receiving the maximum amount of morphine Dr. Willis would prescribe. Dr. Willis testified that Quinlan reached maximum medical improvement on April 10, 2000. Quinlan testified that Consolidated refused to pay the costs of Dr. Willis's treatment; that cost was $86,421.96. Quinlan testified that his wife's health insurance carrier paid $69,662.45 of that amount.

Patsy Bramlett, a rehabilitation counselor, performed a vocational assessment of Quinlan. Bramlett concluded that Quinlan was unable to perform the type of work he had done in the past and that Quinlan was not a candidate to return to even sedentary work on a sustained basis. Bramlett concluded that Quinlan was not a candidate for vocational rehabilitation, that he was 100% vocationally disabled, and that he might require mental-health counseling to assist him with coping with depression in the future.

Virginia Spruce, a vocational consultant, also evaluated Quinlan. Spruce concluded that Quinlan could not return to his past employment and that Quinlan would have difficulty obtaining gainful employment. Spruce determined that Quinlan was between 65% and 70% vocationally disabled.

In 1992, before the injury that is the subject of this action, Quinlan suffered a work-related injury to his right foot while working for another employer; he sued for and was awarded workers' compensation benefits for that injury. Bramlett was the vocational consultant in both this action and in Quinlan's 1992 workers' compensation action. As a result of the 1992 injury, Bramlett assigned Quinlan a vocational impairment rating of 20%. Quinlan testified that he had also injured his back in a 1978 automobile accident. Quinlan testified, however, that he had fully recovered from both the 1978 and the 1992 injuries and that he had not suffered physical limitations as a result of those injuries. The record indicates that Quinlan's previous work-related injuries did not preclude him from performing his job duties for Consolidated.

This case is governed by the 1992 Alabama Workers' Compensation Act, § 25-5-1 et seq., Ala. Code 1975, which provides that our review of a trial court's conclusions of law is without a presumption of correctness. § 25-5-81(e)(1), Ala. Code 1975. The Workers' Compensation Act further provides that "[i]n reviewing *Page 652 pure findings of fact, the finding of the circuit court shall not be reversed if that finding is supported by substantial evidence." §25-5-81(e)(2), Ala. Code 1975. Substantial evidence is "evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved." West v. Founders Life Assurance Co. of Florida, 547 So.2d 870,871 (Ala. 1989).

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CONSOLIDATED CONST. CO. v. Quinlan
832 So. 2d 648 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
832 So. 2d 648, 2002 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 293, 2002 WL 598868, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/consolidated-const-co-v-quinlan-alacivapp-2002.