Hall v. Global Solution Servs., LLC

249 So. 3d 895
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 20, 2018
DocketNO. 2018–CA–0060
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 249 So. 3d 895 (Hall v. Global Solution Servs., LLC) 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
Hall v. Global Solution Servs., LLC, 249 So. 3d 895 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Judge Terri F. Love

This appeal arises from a disputed claim for compensation filed by the plaintiff for injuries sustained while on the job. After a door closed on plaintiff's foot at the hotel where she was working, she was unable to continue working. Plaintiff began to receive workers' compensation benefits, but the benefits were terminated approximately two years after injury. Plaintiff then filed a disputed claim for compensation. Following a trial, the workers' compensation court judge dismissed plaintiff's claims. Plaintiff filed an appeal in proper person contending that she remained entitled to workers' compensation benefits because she continues to suffer from pain and cannot work. We find that the trial court did not commit manifest error by dismissing plaintiff's claims, as there were two permissible views of the evidence, and affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 12, 2014, Maxine Hall was working as a housekeeper for Global Solution Services, LLC ("Global") when a closet door automatically shut on her left foot while she was performing a turn down service at the Roosevelt Hotel. Ms. Hall was told at the Ochsner emergency room *897that no bones were broken. However, Ms. Hall continued to experience pain and swelling. Ms. Hall then treated with Dr. Gregory Moldin, who prescribed pain medication. Ms. Hall's caseworker then directed her to Concentra where Ms. Hall received another x-ray and discovered that she had a fracture in her toe. Ms. Hall was placed on crutches and given a boot. Ms. Hall was then treated by an orthopedic surgeon, a neurologist, a vascular surgeon, and a pain management doctor. Ms. Hall contends she received no relief from her pain, continues to experience swelling, tenderness, and is unable to return to work.

Ms. Hall began receiving workers' compensation benefits as a result of her injuries, but the benefits were terminated on August 7, 2016. Ms. Hall then filed a Disputed Claim for Compensation against Global and its insurer, Illinois National Insurance Company ("Illinois"), seeking a reinstatement of benefits, an authorization for medical treatment, and alleging that Global failed to pay or timely pay for travel expenses. Ms. Hall also requested penalties and attorney's fees. Following the trial, the workers' compensation court judge dismissed Ms. Hall's Disputed Claim for Compensation at her own costs.1 Ms. Hall filed an appeal in proper person. Ms. Hall contends that the workers' compensation court judge erred by dismissing her claims.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

"Appellate courts review workers' compensation cases using the manifest error-clearly wrong standard of review." Martinez v. Rames , 16-1312, p. 2 (La. App. 4 Cir. 7/12/17), 224 So.3d 467, 470. "In applying the manifest error-clearly wrong standard of review, the appellate court must not determine whether the trier of fact was right or wrong, but only whether the factfinder's conclusion was a reasonable one." Chaisson v. Louisiana Rock Monsters, LLC , 13-1423, p. 3 (La. App. 4 Cir. 4/2/14), 140 So.3d 55, 57. "Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, a factfinder's choice between them can never be manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong." Id. "Thus, 'if the [factfinder's] findings are reasonable in light of the record reviewed in its entirety, the court of appeal may not reverse, even if convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently.' " Banks v. Indus. Roofing & Sheet Metal Works, Inc. , 96-2840, p. 8 (La. 7/1/97), 696 So.2d 551, 556, quoting Sistler v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. , 558 So.2d 1106, 1112 (La. 1990).

"When legal error interdicts the fact-finding process in a workers compensation proceeding, the de novo , rather than the manifest error, standard of review applies." Tulane Univ. Hosp. & Clinic v. Lockheed Martin Corp. , 11-0179, p. 3 (La. App. 4 Cir. 6/29/11), 70 So.3d 988, 990. "Likewise, interpretation of statutes pertaining to workers' compensation is a question of law and warrants a de novo review to determine if the ruling was legally correct." Id.

DISPUTED CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION

Ms. Hall asserts that the trial court erroneously dismissed her Disputed Claim for Compensation.

Initially, Ms. Hall sought treatment at an Ochsner emergency room and was told she had no broken bones. After being treated by Dr. Moldin, she was told to go to Concentra. There, she received another x-ray and was informed that her toe was fractured.

*898Dr. Robert Bostick III

Dr. Bostick III, an orthopedic surgeon, treated Ms. Hall between May 2014, and February 2015. Dr. Bostick III assessed Ms. Hall as having achilles bursitis /tendonitis, contusion of the toe, midfoot sprain, and neuralgia-neuritis. He ordered an MRI of her left foot and lumbar spine. Dr. Bostick III initially stated that Ms. Hall could return to work on a sedentary basis, but required her to wear a cast shoe. However, in early 2015, he wrote that Ms. Hall was unable to return to work. Dr. Bostick III also prescribed Ms. Hall several medications. Dr. Bostick III referred Ms. Hall to Dr. Robert Batson and Dr. Morteza Shamsnia.

Dr. Robert Batson

Ms. Hall treated with Dr. Batson, a vascular surgeon, at the referral of Dr. Bostick III, between February 2015, and June 2015. Dr. Batson noted that Ms. Hall was suffering from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome ("CRPS") and recommended that she see Dr. Paul Hubbell for a nerve block. Following the nerve block from Dr. Hubbell, Dr. Batson noted that Ms. Hall had "significant improvement following block." Ms. Hall did not receive any further nerve blocks.

Dr. Morteza Shamsnia

Upon Dr. Bostick III's referral, Ms. Hall treated with Dr. Shamsnia, a neurologist, between April 2015, through June 2016, for her continuing symptoms. Ms. Hall reported to Dr. Shamsnia, complaining of "swelling in the left foot and ankle, weakness in the left foot and numbness and burning in the bottom of her left foot" with "vague discomfort around her left ankle." Dr. Shamsnia noted that Ms. Hall was unable to return to work in April 2015. In April 2015, Dr. Shamsnia noted that Ms. Hall was suffering from left foot pain, possible tarsal tunnel syndrome, and possible CRPS. By June 2016, Dr. Shamsnia noted that Ms. Hall was suffering from tarsal tunnel syndrome, left peroneal neuropathy, and lumbosacral radiculopathies. Ms.

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249 So. 3d 895, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-global-solution-servs-llc-lactapp-2018.