Employers Liability Assurance Corp. v. General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corp.

148 So. 2d 425, 1962 La. App. LEXIS 2703
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 14, 1962
DocketNo. 5698
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 148 So. 2d 425 (Employers Liability Assurance Corp. v. General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corp.) 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
Employers Liability Assurance Corp. v. General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corp., 148 So. 2d 425, 1962 La. App. LEXIS 2703 (La. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinion

REID, Judge.

This is an action for a declaratory judgment brought by the City of Bogalusa and its compensation insurance carrier against General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corporation, a former insurance carrier of the City of Bogalusa and Julius Flynn, a former employee of the City of Bogalusa in which they seek a determination of whether or not, The Employers Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd., or General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corporation, or both of them, are liable for whatever compensation benefits may be due the employee, Julius Flynn, as a result of his alleged injury.

The record shows Julius Flynn was employed by the City of Bogalusa at its tile plant and while so employed he injured his back on October 18, 1957 while moving some extremely large drainage tile. He was paid 18 weeks compensation benefits by General Accident, Fire‘& Life Assurance Corporation in the amount of $630.00 and medical bills in the amount of $858.80. By the end of February or early March 1958, Julius Flynn returned to his employment. On September 16, 1958 he sustained an alleged second injury and since that time has allegedly been paid compensation by The Employers Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd. The facts also show the insurance carrier of the City of Bogalusa the date of the alleged second accident was The Employers Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd., who has succeeded the General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corpotion as of November 1, 1957.

On October 15, 1959 the plaintiffs, The Employers Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd., and the City of Bogalusa, filed a petition for a declaratory judgment against General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corporation, in which they alleged that despite the fact that Julius Flynn had returned to work in February, 1958 he had continued to complain of his back and on September 16, 1958 the discomfort was so acute that he was required to leave his employment and seek further medical attention. Plaintiffs further alleged although the employee was discharged by the physician on December 10, 1958, he continued to complain of his back and made demand against Employers for compensation benefits. They further allege that although not admitting liability, and with full reservation of their rights, and in order to avoid penalties,1 Employers made weekly payments of compensation and furnished medical attention to the employee pending a determination of liability.

Exceptions of no cause and no right of action and prescription were filed by General Accident and exceptions of no cause and no right of action were filed by Julius Flynn. All the exceptions were sustained by the District Court and on appeal to this Court, La.App., 125 So.2d 689 said judgment of the District Court, sustaining the exceptions, were reversed and the case was remanded for trial. After remand the defendant, General Accident, filed an answer denying liability. Defendant Julius Flynn filed an answer and reconventional demand praying for attorney’s fees in the amount of $5000.00. On November 6, 1961, for written reasons assigned, the Trial Court rendered judgment as follows:

“IT IS ORDERED AND DECLARED that General Accident Fire [427]*427& Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., and The Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd. are solidarily liable, as insurers, to the City of Bo-galusa for any compensation benefits and for any medical, surgical, or hospital expenses the City of Bogalusa may owe to Julius Flynn by reason of an accident or injury alleged to have occured in September of 19S8;
“TT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND DECLARED that General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., and The Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation Ltd., are liable in solido for any and all workmen’s compensation benefits, medical, surgical, or hospital benefits to which Julius Flynn may be held entitled under the Louisiana Workmen’s Compensation Act by reason of the alleged accident or injury in September, 1958;
“TT IS FURTHER DECLARED that this Court finds that as of November 6, 1961, The Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd., has paid $576.56 in medical expenses on behalf of Julius Flynn and compensation has been paid to Julius Flynn in the amount of $35.00 a week for 163 weeks and 5 days for a total in weekly compensation benefits of $5,734.17, and The Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation, Ltd., is therefore entitled as of November 6, 1961, to receive one-half of the total expenditure or $3,155.36 from General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., with legal interest thereon until paid.
“TT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the reconventional demand of Julius Flynn be dismissed as premature;
“TT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd. pay all costs of court herein.”

From this judgment General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corporation perfected this appeal. Julius Flynn was granted a suspensive and devolutive appeal but said appeal was not perfected and therefore was abandoned.

On January 10, 1962 the plaintiffs filed an answer to the appeal praying that the judgment be affirmed, except that it be amended to declare General Accident solely liable to the City of Bogalusa for compensation benefits and for all medical, surgical and hospital expenses due Julius Flynn by the City of Bogalusa, and for judgment against General Accident for the full amount of compensation benefits paid by The Employers.

The position of plaintiffs in this case is based on the proposition that the injury to the employee for which they are paying compensation was the result of an accident which occurred on October 18, 1957 while the defendant General Accident was the compensation insurance carrier of the City of Bogalusa, no accident occurred on September 16, 1958, but alternatively if one did occur on September 16, 1958 it did not cause the condition from which the employee is suffering. Plaintiff Employers further contends the employee went back to work without having fully recovered from his injury of October 18, 1957; his back was still painful though improved, but it was not sufficiently improved to withstand the strain of his employment and that “exacertation” on September 16, 1958 was not an additional accident but the foreseeable consequence of going back to work with an injured back. In support of this position plaintiffs rely upon the testimony of Dr. Harrell, who was the attending physician, and Dr. Llewelyn, a neurosurgeon who examined the employee.

The position of the defendants is that the employee Julius Flynn had recovered from his injury suffered in September of 1957 when he returned tó work the latter part of February or early part of March, 1958, and that from the time of his return to work un[428]*428til his injury in September of 1958 he was not disabled and was fully able to perform the same duties that he had performed prior to his injury and that the present alleged disability resulted from the second accident of September 16, 1958. In support of its position the defendants rely upon the testimony of the employee Julius Flynn and of his fellow workers.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
148 So. 2d 425, 1962 La. App. LEXIS 2703, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/employers-liability-assurance-corp-v-general-accident-fire-life-lactapp-1962.