Grischow v. Industrial Commission

593 N.E.2d 720, 228 Ill. App. 3d 551, 170 Ill. Dec. 831, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 636
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 24, 1992
Docket2-91-0845WC
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 593 N.E.2d 720 (Grischow v. Industrial Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grischow v. Industrial Commission, 593 N.E.2d 720, 228 Ill. App. 3d 551, 170 Ill. Dec. 831, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 636 (Ill. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

JUSTICE STOUDER

delivered the opinion of the court:

The appellee, Jacqueline Grischow (claimant), filed an application for adjustment of claim pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 48, par. 138.1 et seq.). Following hearings in 1987 and 1988, the arbitrator awarded certain medical expenses, found the claimant was totally and permanently disabled, and awarded $156.67 per week for life as provided in section 8(f) of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 48, par. 138.8(f)). The Industrial Commission (Commission) held a hearing in November of 1989, where additional evidence was presented. Thereafter, the Commission modified the arbitrator’s decision, finding the claimant was temporarily totally disabled for a period of 2261/2 weeks and permanently disabled to the extent of 40% of a person as a whole under section 8(d)(2) of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 48, par. 138.8(d)(2)). The circuit court reversed, finding the Commission’s decision was against the manifest weight of the evidence. The court reinstated the arbitrator’s decision. The appellant, Community Nursing Service (employer), appeals. We reverse.

The claimant was employed by the employer as a homemaker’s aid. The claimant visited homebound clients of the employer. She would prepare meals, wash the clients and assist them in and out of bed. On June 15, 1982, the claimant was washing a client when the client pushed the claimant with her arm. The claimant was pushed backward with her heel catching on a commode. The claimant fell into a folded wheelchair, landing on her buttocks and hitting her back and head against the wheelchair.

The claimant continued to work for an hour or two and then went home. The claimant testified she hurt from her shoulders to her knees. That afternoon she noticed numbness in her left leg and pain in her right leg. The claimant testified she had never experienced this type of numbness or pain prior to that date.

The next day the claimant went to work; however, she was in pain from her shoulders to her knees. She left work feeling nauseous. The following day the claimant worked approximately four hours. She felt “sicker and sicker” as the day progressed. She went home around noon and has not returned to employment since that date. The claimant later informed her office that she believed her condition made it unsafe for her to return to work.

On June 26, 1982, the claimant was examined by her family physician, Dr. Barry Lewis. She was experiencing pain in her right leg, numbness in her left leg, headaches and dizziness. Lewis prescribed diathermy treatments and ultrasound on the lower back. He advised her to stay off her feet.

On July 22, 1982, the claimant was examined at the employer’s direction by Dr. Ken Sanders. According to Dr. Sanders’ report the claimant suffered an injury to her trapezius muscle in May of 1981. Thereafter, according to Sanders, claimant experienced pain in her low back and right leg. Sanders’ report indicates the claimant saw a physician for her right leg complaint on December 29, 1981. Sanders reported the claimant’s complaints were the same after the June 15, 1982, incident as she suffered before; however, the claimant’s complaints were markedly increased since that date.

At the November 1987 arbitration hearing, the claimant denied having low back and right leg pain prior to June 15, 1982. She explained she was seen by her physician, Dr. James Mígala, in 1981 for problems with her right shoulder and arm. Dr. Migala’s records, dated June 23, 1981, reflect an injury to the right upper back, neck and shoulder.

The claimant’s condition grew steadily worse in November and December of 1982. A CT scan was done in November of 1982. The claimant continued to experience pain in her right leg and numbness in the left leg. Occasionally her legs would give out and she would fall. On January 3, 1983, the claimant became violently ill to the extent she could not walk, was incontinent and felt as if her legs were going to “blow up.”

At the employer’s direction, the claimant was examined by Dr. Marshall Matz in January and June of 1983. Matz’s January 26, 1983, report indicates the claimant complained of pain in her lower back, and pain and numbness in her legs. Matz observed the claimant appeared to be in no distress, had no limp and walked with a normal gait. She was able to walk on her heels and toes and squat with her buttocks to her heels. She was able to bend forward and touch her toes with her fingertips.

The claimant was also seen by Dr. “Scarf [sic]” in January of 1983. He hospitalized the claimant from January 31, 1983, to February 2, 1983. A myelogram was performed; however, other contemplated procedures were cancelled.

She was examined by Dr. James Mígala on March 28, 1983. Mi-gala had treated the claimant for various ailments since the mid 1970’s; however, this was the first time he had seen her since the incident the previous June. His diagnosis was that the claimant was suffering from a lumbar sprain. His report noted the November CT scan showed no abnormalities. The claimant testified Mígala told her to stay off her feet and not lift anything. He prescribed Indocin, which she testified caused her hair to fall out. Mígala subsequently sent her to see a neurosurgeon, Dr. Robert Strzyz.

The claimant’s condition continued to worsen during the summer of 1983. On September 12, 1983, a laminectomy was performed at the L5-S1 disc level. The claimant testified that while in the hospital recovering from the surgery her legs “stopped working.” This condition required her to use a walker for a couple of months thereafter. Migala’s records for September 18, 1983, indicate the claimant was doing well after the laminectomy and was discharged with continuing bilateral leg pain. There is no mention of any difficulty walking.

Migala’s report dated October 11, 1983, states the claimant was doing much better; however, she was experiencing numbness in the right heel and toe. She had no leg pain, and he hoped she would return to full activity within a month. His notes of November 11, 1983, indicate she was doing reasonably well, although she experienced pain in her right leg and numbness in the area of the top of her left foot toward the end of the day. Migala’s notes of December 23, 1983, state the claimant was still experiencing “symptoms intermittently in both legs.” His examination revealed a full rangeibf motion in her spine.

The claimant was seen by Mígala in his office on four occasions in 1984 (February, April, June and August). His records reflect continued complaints of numbness in the left leg and pain in the right leg.

The claimant was seen by a rehabilitation nurse in February of 1984. The nurse’s report indicates the claimant complained of chronic leg and back pain and that her legs would give out. The report states, “She indicates she feels her problems with her back really started approximately 14 months before the time of the reported injury.” The nurse opined the claimant was slightly neurotic, dwelt on her discomfort and might be exaggerating her symptoms.

Mígala examined the claimant in February and July of 1985. Mi-gala found the claimant continued to complain of pain in her legs and had limited flexion of the lumbar spine.

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Bluebook (online)
593 N.E.2d 720, 228 Ill. App. 3d 551, 170 Ill. Dec. 831, 1992 Ill. App. LEXIS 636, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grischow-v-industrial-commission-illappct-1992.