Jaycox v. General American Life Insurance Co.

992 S.W.2d 240, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 383
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 30, 1999
DocketNo. 74432
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 992 S.W.2d 240 (Jaycox v. General American Life Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jaycox v. General American Life Insurance Co., 992 S.W.2d 240, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 383 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

RICHARD B. TEITELMAN, Judge

Donna Jaycox (“Claimant”) filed a claim against two successive employers for carpal tunnel syndrome to her right hand resulting from repetitive motions. The issues presented in both claims were medical causation, the application of the last exposure rule, the question of whether or not Claimant’s injuries were an occupational disease and whether or not Claimant’s symptoms arose out of, and in the course of, her employment. President Riverboat Casino (“President”), Claimant’s second employer, now appeals from the Final Award of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission which affirmed the decision of the ALJ in finding that President was liable under the last exposure rule for Claimant’s permanent partial disability.

Factual and Procedural Background

Claimant was hired by General American Life Insurance Company (“General American”) to work in its Law Division as a secretary in May of 1988, and remained in that position for over four years. While in the Law Division, Claimant’s job duties included typing and answering the phone. She spent approximately 80% of her day typing. Claimant was later transferred to the Service Center, where the job entailed 25-30% less typing. Claimant last worked at General American in November of 1993.

Claimant began experiencing problems with her right hand in approximately 1989. She also had pain in her arm and wrist. In April of 1991, she complained of pain in her right hand. She was diagnosed with tendinitis, and received a settlement from General American in the amount of $1,000 representing disability of 3% of the right wrist. In October of 1991, Claimant noticed a lump on her right hand. The lump was diagnosed as a ganglion cyst and surgery was performed to remove it. Claimant received a settlement from General American in the amount of $2,295.88, representing a disability of 5% of the right wrist plus two weeks for disfigurement.

During 1992, Claimant continued to have hand complaints. At that time, she was examined and told that her problems were due to tendinitis. Claimant saw Dr. Stephen M. Benz because of pain in her right hand and night pain. He prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and splints for her hand. A nerve conduction study taken at the time showed no evidence of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Claimant saw Dr. Benz three times in 1993.. She was continued on anti-inflammatory medication and was given a cortisone injection in her wrist. Dr. Benz again prescribed a splint.

After transferring to the Service Center at General American in October of 1993, Claimant developed another ganglion cyst on her right hand. Dr. R. Evan Crandall examined it. During his examination, he suspected that she had carpal tunnel syndrome, however, he ordered a nerve conduction study, the results of which were negative.

In November of 1993, Claimant again suffered from pain in her hands. By the time of Claimant’s last day of work for General American, her pain and numbness had increased from the pain she had experienced earlier. Claimant saw Dr. Cran-dall on her last date of employment with General American.

After leaving General American, Claimant worked part time for a temporary agency, performing primarily secretarial and office duties. Claimant worked as a [242]*242temp for a total of one month, and there was no consistency in the amount of keyboarding required of Claimant in her temporary work.

In late 1993, Claimant signed up for dealer school at the President Casino. During January and February of 1994, Claimant worked part time in the Human Resources Department at the President while going to dealer school to learn how to deal blackjack. Approximately 50% of Claimant’s work involved typing.

Claimant began dealing for the President on Memorial Day weekend in 1994. During the course of her work as a dealer, Claimant did not experience symptoms that were new in kind, but her symptoms worsened. Claimant testified that she was never pain-free in her right hand for any period longer than a month subsequent to 1993.

The activities of dealing, collecting bets and paying customers involved the use of both hands. Claimant testified that in doing her job as a dealer, if you want to make money you need to be fast. She was taught to work quickly in dealer school.

Claimant worked in 11/2 hour rotations, spending a half-hour at each of three tables, then taking a half-hour break and starting again. Claimant worked an eight-hour shift from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. She usually worked a 40-hour week.

From Memorial Day, 1994, to September of 1994, Claimant worked full time as a blackjack dealer and her right hand symptoms became significantly worse. Claimant would lose complete control over her hand and at times lost control over the deck of cards. Claimant experienced the most problems in late July and August of 1994. By mid-September of 1994, Claimant’s pain was so bad that she was in tears while dealing. In late September of 1994, Claimant told her employer that she could not deal anymore because of the pain. Claimant did not seek medical treatment at all between the time that she left General American and this date in September of 1994.

Upon being informed that Claimant was in too much pain to perform her job, the President sent her to Dr. Benz. Dr. Benz examined Claimant on September 21, 1994 and determined that she needed carpal tunnel release surgery. He told Claimant to wear her splint at all times. When Claimant reported to the President, she was told she could not wear the splint at work pursuant to Missouri Gaming Commission Rules and they had no work available for her.

Claimant was off from work until December 30, 1994. The President let her begin work greeting people as an ambassador on December 31, 1994. During early 1995, Claimant continued working as an ambassador for approximately one month but found the pay to be insufficient. Claimant obtained a work release from Dr. Benz, then returned to work full time as a dealer in February of 1995. Subsequent to February 9, 1995, Claimant experienced pain in her right hand while dealing cards. She could not wear the splint while dealing, and only wore it approximately half the time during her break periods.

Claimant continued to work as a dealer until September of 1995, when she informed the President that her hand complaints had become severe again.1 She was told to go home and see a doctor.

Dr. Benz performed carpal tunnel release surgery on Claimant in December of 1995. After the surgery, Claimant’s pain subsided significantly. On January 6, 1996, Claimant returned to work for the President’s Human Resources Department. She is currently employed at the President and has not been dealing blackjack since she returned to work.

In addition to performing hand-intensive tasks at work, Claimant also enjoys bowling and has bowled on and off for 18-20 [243]*243years. She bowled before experiencing trouble with her hands while working at General American. When Claimant’s hand complaints began in 1989, she was bowling three nights a week. When Claimant bowls, she wears a glove with a metal strip inside that keeps her from flexing or extending her wrist.

At the hearing before the Administrative Law Judge, Dr. Crandall testified that when he saw Claimant on November 28, 1993, he did not believe that Claimant had carpal tunnel syndrome because her nerve conduction study and EMG tests were negative.

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Bluebook (online)
992 S.W.2d 240, 1999 Mo. App. LEXIS 383, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jaycox-v-general-american-life-insurance-co-moctapp-1999.