Henson v. Club Products

736 S.W.2d 290, 22 Ark. App. 136, 1987 Ark. App. LEXIS 2546
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 30, 1987
DocketCA 87-137
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 736 S.W.2d 290 (Henson v. Club Products) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Henson v. Club Products, 736 S.W.2d 290, 22 Ark. App. 136, 1987 Ark. App. LEXIS 2546 (Ark. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

Donald L. Corbin, Chief Judge.

This appeal comes from the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission. Appellant, Clifton Henson, appeals the Commission’s finding that he is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for psychiatric treatment for psychological disorders that appellant claims constituted a pre-existing condition, which was aggravated by his compensable burn injury. We affirm.

On June 18, 1982, appellant, Clifton Henson, was in an accident in which he was burned and disfigured while acting in the course and scope of his employment with appellee, Club Products. In February of 1984, appellant was hospitalized for almost two months for severe psychiatric problems.

Appellant’s medical and psychiatric history indicates he was admitted to Arkansas State Hospital twice in 1981 and both times was discharged against medical advice without a formal diagnosis. The medical records indicate appellant was depressed, confused, and believed his life was threatened. The provisional diagnosis for appellant indicated paranoia and alcohol abuse. Appellant was also admitted to Baptist Medical Center psychiatric unit in 1981 for alcohol abuse, emotional and family problems. Appellant was hospitalized in 1982 for his burn injury and also received psychiatric treatment at this time. In 198 3 appellant was admitted to Baptist Medical Center for possible abdominal ascites secondary to alcoholic cirrhosis with the diagnosis stating there was abnormal liver function probably secondary to alcohol, no cirrhosis. In 1984, appellant was admitted to the BridgeWay with a diagnosis of major depressive episode and major depressive episode with psychotic features. The BridgeWay’s master treatment plan for appellant listed alcohol abuse as one of appellant’s problems and observation for DT’s as one of his needs. While still being treated at the BridgeWay in 1984, appellant was sent to Riverview Hospital for evaluation of chest pains. The diagnosis revealed alcohol withdrawal, alcohol jealousy, bronchitis, and paranoia.

By an opinion dated July 29,1986, the Administrative Law Judge found that appellant’s medical treatment for the burn injury was compensable, but the psychiatric treatment was not. The full Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge in a two to one decision on January 21,1987, finding that appellant’s psychological disorders were not causally connected to his com-pensable burn injury. The Commission concluded that appellant had been experiencing a progressively deteriorating psychological condition since 1981, prior to his burn injury. The Commission noted that appellant’s condition is complicated by his deafness, family problems, alcoholism and substance abuse. The Commission stated that it was apparent that alcoholism was a continuing factor in claimant’s progressing emotional disorders. The Commission considered conflicting medical testimony regarding whether appellant’s mental disorders were causally connected to his burn injury and held there was no causal connection between the appellant’s psychological disorders and his compensable burn injury.

For reversal, appellant makes the following argument with two sub-issues: (I) Claimant suffered an aggravation of a preexisting condition which is compensable under Arkansas law; (A) the full Commission erred by not addressing the issue of aggravation of pre-existing condition, therefore, its finding is incorrect as a matter of law; (B) the full Commission’s finding that there was no causal connection between the industrial accident and claimant’s subsequent psychological treatment is not supported by substantial evidence, and is, therefore, incorrect as a finding of fact.

On appellate review of workers’ compensation cases the evidence is reviewed in the light most favorable to the finding of the Commission and given its strongest probative value in favor of its order. The issue is not whether we might have reached a different result or whether the evidence would have supported a contrary finding. Bearden Lumber Company v. Bond, 7 Ark. App. 65, 644 S.W.2d 321 (1983). The extent of our inquiry is to determine if the finding of the Commission is supported by substantial evidence and, even where a preponderance of the evidence might indicate a contrary result, we will affirm if reasonable minds could reach the Commission’s conclusion. It is also well settled that the Commission is better equipped by specialization, insight, and experience to translate, analyze, and determine issues and to translate evidence into findings of fact. Burks v. Anthony Timberlands, 21 Ark. App. 1, 727 S.W.2d 388 (1987). To reverse a decision of the Commission, we must be convinced that fair-minded persons, with the same facts before them, could not have reached the conclusion arrived at by the Commission. Franklin Collier Farms v. Chapple, 18 Ark. App. 200, 712 S.W.2d 334 (1986).

The principle applicable to the case at bar is addressed by Professor Larson as follows:

When the primary injury is shown to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, every natural consequence that flows from the injury likewise arises out of the employment, unless it is the result of an independent intervening cause attributable to claimant’s own intentional conduct.

1 A. Larson, The Law of Workmen’s Compensation § 13.00 (1985). This principle was accepted by the Arkansas Supreme Court in Aluminum Company of America v. Williams, 232 Ark. 216, 335 S.W.2d 315 (1960). This court cited Williams as follows:

We conclude that in all of our cases in which a second period of medical complications follows an acknowledged compensable injury we have applied the test set forth in Williams — that where the second complication is found to be a natural and probable result of the first injury, the employer remains liable. Only where it is found that the second episode has resulted from an independent intervening cause is that liability affected. While there may be some variance in the words used to describe the principle, there has been no departure from the basic test, i.e., whether there is a causal connection between the two episodes.

Bearden, 7 Ark. App. at 71, 335 S.W.2d at 319 (citations omitted).

In the present case, the Commission considered all of the evidence and found no causal connection between appellant’s psychological disorders and his compensable burn injury. The medical testimony regarding the causal connection was conflicting. At the hearing, appellant’s psychiatrist, Dr. Farrell, testified that claimant’s emotional problems were related to his burn injuries. Specifically, Dr. Farrell testified that he found appellant to be psychotic and extremely depressed. He was hallucinating and hearing voices. Dr. Farrell noted that appellant was not in touch with reality and was unable to care for himself at home. Dr. Farrell stated that when appellant was in the BridgeWay, appellant thought he was smelling burning hair. One patient had had her hair permed and appellant smelled that and became extremely paranoid and delusional, which Dr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Walker v. United Cerebral Palsy of Arkansas
426 S.W.3d 539 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2013)
Gaither Appliance v. Stewart
288 S.W.3d 690 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2008)
Huffy Service First v. Ledbetter
69 S.W.3d 449 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2002)
Patterson v. Arkansas Department of Health
15 S.W.3d 701 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2000)
Geo Specialty Chemical, Inc. v. Clingan
13 S.W.3d 218 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2000)
Inskeep v. Emerson Electric Co.
983 S.W.2d 132 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1998)
City of Blytheville v. McCormick
939 S.W.2d 855 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1997)
Hawkins Construction v. Maxell
915 S.W.2d 302 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1996)
Whaley v. Hardee's
912 S.W.2d 14 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1995)
Haney v. Smith, Doyle & Winters & Continental Insurance
878 S.W.2d 775 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1994)
Pierce v. General Motors Corp.
504 N.W.2d 648 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1993)
Broadway v. B.A.S.S.
848 S.W.2d 445 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1993)
Wade v. Mr. C. Cavenaugh's
768 S.W.2d 521 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1989)
Wade v. Mr. C. Cavenaugh's
756 S.W.2d 923 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
736 S.W.2d 290, 22 Ark. App. 136, 1987 Ark. App. LEXIS 2546, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henson-v-club-products-arkctapp-1987.