Coward v. the Roberts Companies, Inc.

CourtNorth Carolina Industrial Commission
DecidedFebruary 16, 2000
DocketI.C. No. 374731
StatusPublished

This text of Coward v. the Roberts Companies, Inc. (Coward v. the Roberts Companies, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Carolina Industrial Commission primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coward v. the Roberts Companies, Inc., (N.C. Super. Ct. 2000).

Opinion

The undersigned have reviewed the prior Opinion and Award based upon the record of the proceedings before the Deputy Commissioner Hedrick and the briefs and arguments of the parties. The appealing party has not shown good ground to reconsider the evidence; receive further evidence; rehear the parties or their representatives; or amend the Opinion and Award. However, the Full Commission modifies the Opinion and Award with regard to the issue of non-cooperation with vocational rehabilitation.

The Full Commission finds as fact and concludes as matters of law the following, which were entered into by the parties in a Pre-Trial Agreement and at the hearing as

STIPULATIONS
1. On 26 July 1993, the date of plaintiff's injury, the parties were subject to and bound by the provisions of the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act.

2. On that date, an employment relationship existed between plaintiff and defendant.

3. On 26 July 1993, plaintiff sustained an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment with defendant.

4. Plaintiff's average weekly wage was $500.00.

5. Since his injury, defendant has continued to pay plaintiff temporary total disability compensation at the rate of $335.35 per week.

6. A notebook containing copies of plaintiff's medical and vocational rehabilitation records, marked as Stipulated Exhibit Number Two, is admitted into evidence.

7. The depositions of Tally E. Lassiter, M.D., Thomas S. Baldwin, Ph.D., Maria Halpin, M.Ed. and Raymond Kurt Nichols are admitted into evidence.

***********

The Full Commission adopts and modifies the findings of fact found by the Deputy Commissioner and finds as follows

FINDINGS OF FACT
1. At the time of the hearing before the Deputy Commissioner, plaintiff was forty-eight years old. He had a fifth grade education, but was unable to read or write. Nevertheless, he was intellectually capable of completing a welding course of nine months duration in order to become a certified welder. Plaintiff's employment history consisted primarily of work as a welder. Plaintiff resided in Vanceboro, North Carolina. Vanceboro is approximately twenty-five miles from Greenville, North Carolina and thirty-seven miles from Farmville, North Carolina. Plaintiff possessed a valid North Carolina driver's license and was capable of driving an automobile.

2. Defendant periodically employed plaintiff as a welder over a period of approximately ten years. While working for defendant on 26 July 1993, plaintiff slipped and fell thereby sustaining a herniated disc at L4-L5. Plaintiff's herniated disc was treated surgically by Dr. Lassiter on 7 October 1993 and 9 November 1995.

3. On 10 January 1996, plaintiff underwent a functional capacity examination (FCE). He also underwent four sessions of work hardening therapy. During the FCE and work hardening therapy, plaintiff consistently exhibited excessive self-limiting or inconsistent behaviors. Despite his submaximal effort, he demonstrated that he was capable of functioning in the light to medium work categories. His condition does require that he have an opportunity to change positions from sitting to standing.

4. On 29 January 1996, Dr. Lassiter released plaintiff to return to light duty work. He restricted plaintiff from lifting weights greater than twenty-five pounds. He also restricted him from extended walking, sitting or standing for more than two hours without a break. He permitted plaintiff to perform limited bending, stooping and squatting. For the first four weeks plaintiff was restricted to working four hours per day. For the next four weeks he was restricted to working for six hours per day. He was then permitted to return to work for eight hours per day. Plaintiff was physically capable of performing work with physical demands consistent with the restrictions assigned by Dr. Lassiter.

5. Plaintiff reached maximum medical improvement on 11 March 1996. However, as of that date, he had not reached maximum vocational improvement. Dr. Lassiter rated plaintiff as having a fifteen percent permanent impairment of his back as a result of his injury on 26 July 1993. Dr. Miller, from whom plaintiff received a second opinion, concurred with Dr. Lassiter's opinion that plaintiff has a fifteen percent permanent impairment of his back as a result of his injury on 26 July 1993. Plaintiff retains a fifteen percent permanent impairment of his back as a result of his injury on 26 July 1993.

6. In May 1996, defendant retained the services of Resolve Rehabilitation Consultants to provide plaintiff with vocational rehabilitation and job placement assistance. Throughout the period of time that Resolve Rehabilitation Consultants provided plaintiff with vocational rehabilitation and job placement assistance, plaintiff stubbornly resisted the efforts being made to assist him in returning to work. Plaintiff repeatedly failed to contact numerous potential employers identified for him by his vocational counselors. Very frequently when his counselors attempted to reach him by telephone they were informed that he was away or no one answered the telephone call. Plaintiff's non-cooperative behavior and disinterest in vocational assistance was egregious in nature.

7. In September 1996, Maria Halpin was assigned to assist plaintiff in returning to work. Plaintiff informed Ms. Halpin that he did not believe he could maintain a job due to his constant pain. He also stated that he believed the restrictions imposed by Dr. Lassiter were too lenient. Ms. Roach, plaintiff's girlfriend, reinforced plaintiff's complaints. Ms. Roach actively advocated that plaintiff could not return to work thereby interfering with his vocational progress.

8. Although defendant offered to provide plaintiff a means to increase his literacy, plaintiff nevertheless refused defendant's offer to provide him with remedial literacy instruction. Plaintiff's effort to obtain employment was poor at best. In fact, at times, plaintiff reported that he had completed employment applications when he had not done so. On more than one occasion, he reported to Ms. Halpin that prospective employers had no employment available. However, when Ms. Halpin contacted these same employers to confirm her understanding that they had employment available, the employers contradicted plaintiff's assertion that they had no available positions.

9. On more than one occasion, plaintiff appeared for an employment interview using a cane to ambulate. Dr. Lassiter did not believe that plaintiff required the assistance of a cane to ambulate. Plaintiff used a cane without medical necessity to purposefully sabotage his employment interviews in a continuation of his blatant non-cooperation with vocational rehabilitation efforts.

10. In November 1996, Ms. Halpin located a potential position for plaintiff as an unarmed security guard. The physical requirements of the position were classified as sedentary. The physical demands of the position were within the restrictions imposed by Dr. Lassiter. Dr. Lassiter specifically approved of plaintiff returning to work in the security guard position. However, when plaintiff attended the employment interview, he was dressed inappropriately, wearing a hat, sunglasses and a shirt that was not tucked in. During the interview he exaggerated his physical restrictions. Ms. Roach, who accompanied plaintiff to the interview, expressed her opinion that plaintiff was incapable of working as a security guard. Ms. Roach, who was also inappropriately dressed, wore a halter top to the interview. During the interview, Ms. Roach attempted to engage Ms. Halpin in a verbal dispute. Plaintiff and Ms.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Coward v. the Roberts Companies, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coward-v-the-roberts-companies-inc-ncworkcompcom-2000.