Dubois v. Louisiana Forest Industries

722 So. 2d 409, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 895, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 3591, 1998 WL 857917
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 9, 1998
Docket98-895
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 722 So. 2d 409 (Dubois v. Louisiana Forest Industries) 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
Dubois v. Louisiana Forest Industries, 722 So. 2d 409, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 895, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 3591, 1998 WL 857917 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

722 So.2d 409 (1998)

Noland W. DUBOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
LOUISIANA FOREST INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 98-895.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

December 9, 1998.

*411 George Arthur Flournoy, Alexandria, for Noland Dubois.

Stephen C. Resor, J. Geoffrey Ormsby, Michael M. Meunier, New Orleans, for Louisiana Forest Industries, Inc.

Before PETERS, SULLIVAN and PICKETT, Judges.

PETERS, J.

In this workers' compensation case, the employer, Louisiana Forest Industries, Inc., appeals a judgment that awarded the employee, Noland W. Dubois, among other things, supplemental earnings benefits, $8,000.00 in penalties, and $17,000.00 in attorney fees.

DISCUSSION OF THE RECORD

On September 7, 1993, Noland W. Dubois sustained a right knee injury while in the course and scope of his employment with Louisiana Forest Industries, Inc. (hereinafter defendant). Dubois was employed as a machine operator at the defendant's sawmill in Montgomery, Louisiana, when the accident occurred. Upon informing his employer of the accident, he was sent to a physician in Winnfield, Louisiana. From there, Dubois went to the emergency room at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana, where he was prescribed pain medication and released.

On the day after the accident, Dubois was examined by Dr. Chris J. Rich, an Alexandria, Louisiana orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Rich was unable to reach an initial diagnosis because of Dubois's significant pain and the swelling in the right knee. He prescribed more pain medication and placed Dubois in physical therapy.

On October 1, 1993, Dr. Rich performed an arthroscopy on Dubois's knee. The procedure revealed a dislocated patella, a medial meniscus tear, a sprained anterior cruciate ligament, and a sprained medial collateral ligament. During the procedure, Dr. Rich attempted to correct the patella dislocation and remove the tear in the medial meniscus. Based on his assessment of the procedure results, Dr. Rich expected Dubois to have an uneventful recovery and to fully recover at eight to ten weeks.

This expectation was not realized. By November 1, 1993, Dubois had shown very minimal progress toward recovery, and on that date, Dr. Rich performed a manipulation of the knee under general anesthesia in an attempt to break up any accumulated scar tissue. Within a week of the procedure, *412 Dubois's pain had returned. At that point, Dr. Rich ordered physical therapy, opining that the only answer for Dubois's continued problems was for Dubois to be as active as possible. As of November 10, 1993, Dr. Rich's impression was that Dubois suffered from reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD).[1]

When Dubois saw Dr. Rich on December 14, 1993, Dubois complained of significant pain, was still having problems with weight bearing, and was not showing the range of motion desired at that point. At that time, Dr. Rich and Dubois discussed the possibility of treatment through epidural steroid injections. Based on this discussion, Dubois underwent a series of three epidural steroid injections, with each injection providing significant pain relief, but only until the medication wore off. Because of the continued complaints of pain, Dr. Rich referred Dubois to Dr. Michael Conerly, an Alexandria, Louisiana general surgeon, who performed a sympathectomy on the patient on January 31, 1994.[2]

Dubois continued to see Dr. Rich, and on March 8, 1994, reported to the doctor that his pain had improved but was still present. Dubois was still using crutches and could not tolerate any significant weight bearing. Dr. Rich again sent Dubois to physical therapy. On the April 19, 1994 visit, Dr. Rich found that Dubois's condition had changed very little, noting that he still had to use crutches, had significant pain, had atrophy in his muscle, and had a lack of normal range of motion. Dr. Rich testified that, by this time, he had done all that he knew to do and that, therefore, he discussed with Dubois the possibility of having a functional capacity evaluation performed.

The functional capacity evaluation was performed by a physical therapy center in Alexandria, Louisiana, on May 2, and May 4, 1994. The findings of that evaluation classified Dubois at a sedentary level and restricted his employment possibilities to predominantly sitting-type jobs not requiring significant walking. Based on this evaluation and his own medical findings, Dr. Rich was of the opinion that as of May 24, 1994, Dubois had reached maximum medical improvement. Additionally, he was of the opinion that, although Dubois was not totally disabled, he could not return to his former employment.

The defendant, through an outside agency, attempted to provide vocational rehabilitation services for Dubois and identified two jobs for him. However, the defendant discontinued providing vocational rehabilitation services to Dubois in 1994. Dubois did not return to any employment.

Dubois also sought treatment with Dr. Baer I. Rambach, a Shreveport, Louisiana orthopedic surgeon, which treatment was not approved by the defendant. After examining Dubois on November 11, 1994, Dr. Rambach also concluded that Dubois had developed RSD. He prescribed medication and referred Dubois to the Pain Care Consultants of Shreveport, Louisiana, a pain control center comprised of Drs. F. Glenn Sholte, Kathleen Majors, and Donna M. Holder.

Dubois returned to Dr. Rich on February 13, 1996, and the examination results were typical of past examinations. Dr. Rich noted significant atrophy; diffuse edema of the lower leg; hyperesthesia, or pain with light touch and palpation, around the leg; and limited range of motion. Dr. Rich noted that Dubois was still unable to bear weight and was still using crutches.

Prior to his return to Dr. Rich, on March 16, 1995, Dubois was evaluated by Pain Care Consultants. There, he underwent an epidural injection and a series of three intravenous regional blocks. Due to the drive to Shreveport, Dubois requested that he be referred to Dr. Miguel Garcia-Caro, an Alexandria, Louisiana rheumatologist, for further treatment. Dr. Majors then referred Dubois to Dr. Garcia-Caro, who saw him for the first time on March 28, 1996. Dr. Garcia-Caro agreed with Drs. Rich and Rambach that Dubois suffered from RSD and that the condition was causally connected to the work *413 injury. Dr. Garcia-Caro noted tenderness, decreased temperature over a portion of the leg, hyperalgesia, and mild right trochanteric bursitis. Dr. Garcia-Caro referred Dubois to Dr. James W. Quillin, an Alexandria, Louisiana psychologist, who ultimately diagnosed Dubois as having nonpsychotic depression with possible somatization.

Dubois continued to see Dr. Garcia-Caro, and on June 6, 1996, the doctor found that Dubois had improved. As a result of this finding, the doctor decided to proceed with aggressive physical therapy. On August 22, 1996, Dubois returned to Dr. Garcia-Caro with complaints of severe pain in his right knee. However, the pain was more of a mechanical pain that occurred when Dubois used his leg, and Dubois did not have the hyperalgesia and temperature changes in his knee that are classic symptoms of RSD. Therefore, Dr. Garcia-Caro concluded that the pain was not as a result of the RSD and opined that the RSD had been controlled. X-rays were taken and revealed early osteophyte formation compatible with osteoarthritis in the early stages. Dr. Garcia-Caro concluded that the majority of Dubois's pain at that time was as a result of osteoarthritis and bursitis.

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Bluebook (online)
722 So. 2d 409, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 895, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 3591, 1998 WL 857917, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dubois-v-louisiana-forest-industries-lactapp-1998.