Hartsfield v. Industrial Commission

610 N.E.2d 702, 241 Ill. App. 3d 1055, 182 Ill. Dec. 833, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 248
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 4, 1993
Docket4-92-0142WC
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 610 N.E.2d 702 (Hartsfield 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
Hartsfield v. Industrial Commission, 610 N.E.2d 702, 241 Ill. App. 3d 1055, 182 Ill. Dec. 833, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 248 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

JUSTICE STOUDER

delivered the opinion of the court:

The appellant, Jay Cecil Hartsfield (the claimant), filed four applications for adjustment of claim pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 48, par. 138.1 et seq.), contending that on four separate occasions he sustained a myocardial infarction in the course of and arising out of his employment with the appellee, Humko, Division of Kraft (the employer). Following a hearing, the arbitrator denied compensation. The Industrial Commission (the Commission) affirmed the arbitrator’s decision, finding that the claimant had failed to prove accidental injuries arising out of and in the course of his employment. The circuit court confirmed the Commission’s decision, and the claimant appealed to this court.

At the time of the alleged injuries, the claimant was 47 years old and was employed as a gas plant operator. The claimant’s job required him to operate and monitor the employer’s hydrogen and nitrogen production plants. Specifically, the claimant’s duties included monitoring a panel board and water towers, controlling water quality and keeping his area clean. The claimant had to physically check the temperatures in the furnaces and had to climb on vessels in order to change valves. The claimant was also required to observe the panel board to avoid an emergency condition in the plant. The claimant testified that if an emergency occurred and he did not take corrective action, there could be an explosion. If corrective action was required, it was performed from the panel board or by crawling out on top of the unit and making an adjustment there. The claimant’s shifts lasted eight hours. During a normal shift, the claimant had to climb three flights of stairs on one side of the plant and two flights on the other side. The claimant did this four or five times during his shift. Sometimes the claimant had a helper who assisted with these duties.

The claimant testified that in early May 1980, he experienced pain in the back of his right arm, just above the elbow. Sometime during the first two weeks of May, the claimant rolled 55-gallon barrels, some of which weighed over 400 pounds. The claimant moved them with a two-wheeled dolly by tipping them up. The claimant also experienced pain in his arm when tightening a large union on a pipe. The claimant testified that “from time to time” he told his foreman, Terry Clark, and his helper, Kenneth Linck, about his pain. The claimant sought no medical attention for the pain he experienced in May 1980.

On July 30, 1980, the claimant suffered a myocardial infarction while vacationing in Florida. The hospital records from Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida, indicate that the claimant had been suffering from angina-like pain over the past two weeks. The records state that it is possible that the claimant had suffered a previous myocardial infarction. During the claimant’s hospitalization in Florida, his son went to the employer’s insurance office to obtain insurance forms. When the claimant submitted the insurance forms, he marked the box for “illness” rather than “work injury.”

Upon returning to Illinois, the claimant came under the care of Dr. Aldred Heckman. On October, 30, 1980, the claimant entered Burnham City Hospital and was diagnosed as having anterior sclerotic heart disease. The claimant underwent a heart catheterization, and it was discovered that he was suffering from a completely blocked left anterior descending coronary artery. The claimant was released from Burnham City Hospital on November 1. Dr. Heckman released the claimant to return to work on November 17, and advised him to begin slowly and then gradually increase his work load.

On November 14, 1980, the claimant was examined by Dr. Gerald Lietz, the company doctor. Dr. Lietz checked the claimant’s blood pressure, listened to his heart, and reviewed Dr. Heckman’s certificate. Dr. Lietz did not find any obvious heart disease, but did not conduct any significant tests or ask about the claimant’s working conditions. Dr. Lietz did not put any restrictions on the claimant’s work.

On December 12, 1980, the claimant experienced chest and neck pain as he was leaving the plant. That day, the claimant had to take corrective action at the plant when the boiler room cut off the makeup water to a new boiler. This caused a shutdown of the whole plant on the hydrogen side. The claimant’s corrective action consisted of using a pipe wrench and large handwheels on valves. Late in the afternoon, the claimant had to move oil barrels weighing between 200 and 250 pounds. When the claimant experienced pain, he went to the lunchroom and took nitroglycerine tablets and rested for about 20 minutes. By the time the claimant arrived home, he had taken between six and eight of the nitroglycerine tablets. The claimant’s wife took him to Mercy Hospital that evening. Dr. Heckman examined the claimant during his hospitalization and found his physical condition to be unchanged. Dr. Heckman released the claimant to return to work on December 14, 1980.

On December 18, 1980, the claimant experienced pain in his arm and shoulder as he was getting ready to leave work. During that day, the claimant had to do an inventory run. This required the claimant to move 40 to 45 drums so that he could read their labels. When the claimant experienced the pain, he took two nitroglycerine tablets. The claimant’s wife took him to Mercy Hospital, where he was hospitalized until December 23. The claimant has not worked since then. Dr. Heck-man saw the claimant at the hospital and believed that the claimant had suffered a subendocardial heart attack.

The deposition of Dr. Heckman was taken on January 14, 1985. Dr. Heckman found that the claimant had suffered a myocardial infarction on July 30, 1980, while vacationing in Florida. Dr. Heckman found that the claimant had a total occlusion of the left anterior descending artery beginning at its origin. Dr. Heckman found the claimant’s condition unchanged on December 13, 1980. Dr. Heckman was not in total agreement with the claimant’s decision to return to work. On December 19, Dr. Heckman again examined the claimant and believed that he had suffered a slight heart attack. In response to a lengthy hypothetical question that referred to the events of December 18 and the claimant’s physical condition, and assumed such things as that the claimant was following a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, Dr. Heckman opined that there was a correlation between the hypothetical events and the claimant’s alleged myocardial infarction of Decernber 18. Dr. Heckman also stated that claimant’s heart attack on December 18 could have occurred without any exertion on the claimant’s part. Dr. Heckman had previously stated in a letter on February 28, 1983, that in his opinion, the claimant’s coronary artery disease was not related to his employment.

Dr. Nathaniel Greenberg also testified for the claimant. Dr. Green-berg examined the claimant on May 29, 1984. In Dr. Greenberg’s opinion, the claimant did not have a heart attack prior to July 30, 1980, nor did the claimant have a heart attack on December 12, 198b. Dr. Greenberg did believe that the claimant suffered myocardial infarctions on both July 30 and December 18. In response to a hypothetical question describing the events of December 18, Dr. Greenberg opined that the claimant’s work caused his alleged myocardial infarction.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
610 N.E.2d 702, 241 Ill. App. 3d 1055, 182 Ill. Dec. 833, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hartsfield-v-industrial-commission-illappct-1993.