Heath v. Goldrus Drilling Co.

429 So. 2d 530, 1983 La. App. LEXIS 8020
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 9, 1983
DocketNo. 82-630
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 429 So. 2d 530 (Heath v. Goldrus Drilling Co.) 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
Heath v. Goldrus Drilling Co., 429 So. 2d 530, 1983 La. App. LEXIS 8020 (La. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

KNOLL, Judge.

Goldrus Drilling Company (hereafter referred to as Goldrus) lodged this appeal contesting the trial court’s finding that Danny Heath (hereafter referred to as Heath) sustained an injury which diminished his ability to compete in the labor market, to the extent that he should be considered an odd-lot worker and therefore totally and permanently disabled. Heath answered the appeal requesting that attorney’s fees be increased from $5,000.00 to $10,000.00.

FACTS

Heath sustained an injury to his right foot while in the course and scope of his employment for Goldrus. He had been an employee of Goldrus for approximately ten months when the accident occurred on December 12, 1980. Heath was attempting to change a bit when an elevator suddenly opened causing a lift nipple, weighing in excess of 300 pounds, to fall on his right foot. His fifth toe was almost completely amputated by the accident. Heath was immediately transported to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge where he was examined by Dr. John Loupe, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Loupe tried to save Heath’s toe, which subsequently had to be amputated to the fifth metatarsal head.

Dr. Loupe continues to treat Heath since his injury. On May 13, 1981, Dr. Loupe sent a letter to Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance Company, Goldrus’s insurer, releasing Heath to return to work. Another letter followed on July 15, 1981, stating that Heath was still having some pain and his physical impairment would be in the range of 10% to his right lower extremity.

At the time of the accident Heath was earning $6.49 per hour as a floorman and was working an average of sixty hours per week. He also received bonuses every two months averaging $900.00, and a per diem of $20.00 per day. He was paid biweekly, [532]*532bringing home approximately $930.00, in addition to his bonuses. Workmen’s compensation benefits in the amount of $163.00 per week were paid to Heath from the date of his injury until May 11, 1981. Thereafter, he received benefits averaging $49.00 per week until December 11, 1981.

ODD-LOT DETERMINATION

The Louisiana Supreme Court adopted the odd-lot doctrine as the guiding concept in determining total disability in the cases of Oster v. Wetzel Printing, Inc., 390 So.2d 1318 (La.1980) and Turner v. American Mutual Insurance Company, 390 So.2d 1330 (La.1980).

“In order to determine whether the plaintiff fits within this category of odd-lot workers, he must show that because of his physical impairment, mental capacity, education, training, age, availability of employment in his area, and any other relevant factor, that he ‘cannot perform the substantial and material parts of some gainful work or occupation with reasonable continuity.’ Reese v. Preston Marketing Assoc., 274 Minn. 150, 142 N.W.2d 721, 723 (1966). If the plaintiff is successful in showing a combination of factors indicating that the services which he is able to render are so limited in quality, quantity, or dependability that a market for his labor does not exist within which he can effectively compete, he has presented a prima facie case for classification in the odd-lot category. An offering of such proof by the plaintiff, therefore, satisfies his burden of proving that he should be awarded benefits for permanent and total disability. The defendant employer then has the onus of showing that there are jobs which are available to provide a steady income to the plaintiff or that will provide him with ‘a gainful occupation.’ ” Oster, supra.

In Lattin v. Hica Corp., 395 So.2d 690 (La.1981), the Court noted that the odd-lot concept should be applied to substantial pain cases. There the Court stated:

“The odd lot doctrine is also applicable to substantial pain cases because a worker, who, due to his injury, can function only with substantial pain or with the help of fellow workers may not be considered a particularly desirable employee. Thus, if a claimant’s pain appreciably limits the types of work available to him and greatly diminishes his ability to compete in the labor market, he can be treated as an odd-lot worker and be awarded total disability, unless there is proof that jobs are realistically available to him.”

The pain suffered by the claimant must be substantial or appreciable. “A claimant will not be held to be disabled solely because he suffers some residual pain and discomfort when he attempts to work.” Culp v. Belden Corp., 416 So.2d 1311 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1982). However, in determining the claimant’s status this factor will not be considered alone, but in conjunction with other relevant factors. If the claimant can prove that his physical condition, mental capacity, education, training, age or other factors combine to place him at a substantial disadvantage in the labor market, he has made out a prima facie case for classification in the odd-lot category. Lattin, supra.

Dr. Loupe’s testimony established that the plaintiff’s pain should diminish and the injury should heal in eighteen months or more. He testified as follows:

“I don’t think he’ll have continuous pain in the future. Once the calcium is completely returned to the bone and his condition is such that his scar and everything is healed, which may take eighteen months for the scar to, so to speak, completely heal and shrink down and do what scar tissue does over a period of eighteen months. After that time, I don’t think that he would have continuous pain, no, but I think until that time he may have pain.”

He stated that in the future the plaintiff would have difficulty climbing ladders, walking on rough terrain, and doing any form of jumping, but with the proper treatment and precautions Heath could probably return to work.

[533]*533After the accident Heath attempted to work for his uncle, building and installing doors. He is presently employed by Florida Rock Industries in a sedentary job earning $4.35 per hour. Considering both the lay and medical testimony presented and other relevant factors, we find that the plaintiff has not established a prima facie case of odd-lot status. Wilson v. Ebasco Services, Inc., 393 So.2d 1248 (La.1981); 42 La.L.Rev. 620 (1982).

Heath graduated from a Florida high school where he was an honor student and a member of the Beta Club. In the Air Force he was a dispatcher and attained the rank of “Buck Sergeant”. He is twenty-five years of age and is in good health except for the injury to his foot. His disability has limited him to less strenuous jobs, but it cannot be said that Heath is at a severe disadvantage in competing with others in the labor market. Allor v. Belden Corp., 393 So.2d 1233 (La.1981).

We find that Heath’s injury produced a temporary total disability from December 12,1980, the date of the accident, until May 11, 1981, when Dr. Loupe released him to return to work. The preponderance of the evidence shows that Heath can no longer perform the duties of an oil field floorman in which he was customarily engaged when injured. LSA-R.S. 23:1221(3). His condition does not, however, preclude him from engaging in gainful employment. After May 11, 1981, we find him to be partially disabled within the meaning of LSA-R.S. 23:1221(3).

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429 So. 2d 530, 1983 La. App. LEXIS 8020, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heath-v-goldrus-drilling-co-lactapp-1983.