Jordan v. Hercules, Inc.

600 So. 2d 179, 1992 Miss. LEXIS 224, 1992 WL 91786
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMay 6, 1992
Docket89-CC-451
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 600 So. 2d 179 (Jordan v. Hercules, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jordan v. Hercules, Inc., 600 So. 2d 179, 1992 Miss. LEXIS 224, 1992 WL 91786 (Mich. 1992).

Opinion

600 So.2d 179 (1992)

Thomas G. JORDAN
v.
HERCULES, INC.

No. 89-CC-451.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

May 6, 1992.

*180 Darlene D. Ballard and Bill Waller, Sr., Waller & Waller, Jackson, for appellant.

Louie F. Ruffin, Aultman Tyner McNeese & Ruffin, Hattiesburg, for appellee.

Before ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., BANKS and McRAE, JJ.

McRAE, Justice for the Court:

This workers' compensation case is an appeal from a decision by the Circuit Court of Harrison County, Mississippi, dated *181 March 22, 1989, wherein an award of workers' compensation benefits to appellant, Thomas G. Jordan, by the Workers' Compensation Commission was reversed in part and affirmed in part. We affirm in part and reverse in part both the decision of the Circuit Court and order of the Workers' Compensation Commission.

FACTS

On or about April 17, 1982, Jordan sustained injuries to his neck, left shoulder and back in a collision which occurred while he was riding as a passenger in a truck owned by his employer, Hercules, Inc. After Jordan became dissatisfied with the company-appointed physician, Dr. David Bomboy, Hercules authorized him to be treated by Dr. Edward Attix, an orthopedic surgeon in Hattiesburg, for chronic dislocation of the left acromioclavicular joint and atrophy of the muscles attached to the left scapula as well as a fracture to the left scapula. Although Dr. Attix treated Jordan until June 24, 1983, he felt he had reached maximum medical improvement on November 5, 1982, and estimated that he had a five percent (5%) permanent physical impairment of his left upper extremity. Dr. Attix also testified that when he last saw Jordan in May, 1984, he found nothing to indicate permanent physical impairment and released him from his care. Jordan saw numerous other physicians, including Dr. Guy Vise, who recommended and performed surgery on July 5, 1984. Neither Dr. Vise nor Dr. Guild had been authorized by Hercules to treat Jordan. Dr. Vise testified that Jordan reached maximum medical recovery on September 3, 1985, and rated his impairment as twenty-one percent (21%) permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. Dr. Donald Guild, a psychiatrist who treated Jordan for post-traumatic stress disorder, rated his permanent disability in the range of forty to sixty percent (40%-60%).

Jordan filed a Petition to Controvert on September 7, 1983. Hearings were held on February 7, 1984; August 22, 1985 and September 11, 1987. The opinion of the Administrative Law Judge was affirmed in part and reversed in part by the Full Commission as follows:

The Full Commission reverses the Administrative Judge's award of permanent partial disability benefits for insufficient evidence regarding claimant's efforts to obtain the same or other employment... .
* * * * * *
Although Dr. Vise and Dr. Guild testified claimant suffers a medical impairment to the body as a whole, claimant did not present evidence of incapacity because of injury to earn wages in the same or other employment as required by Section 71-3-3(i)... .
The Full Commission therefore finds claimant did not establish a loss of wage-earning capacity attributable to the compensable injury which would entitle him to an award of permanent partial disability benefits... .
The Full Commission finds claimant chose Dr. Barnes, Dr. Guild and Dr. Vise without authorization or consent from employer... .
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the employer, Hercules, Inc., a self-insurer, pay compensation benefits to claimant as follows:
1. Temporary total disability benefits at the rate of $112.00 per week from April 17, 1982, to September 3, 1985, with proper credit for wages earned by claimant or compensation paid by defendant up to $112.00 per week during this period; and
2. All medical services and supplies required by the nature of claimant's injury or the process of his recovery as provided in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 71-3-15 (1972). Defendant shall not be liable for payment of medical treatment rendered by or at the direction of Dr. Barnes, Dr. Guild or Dr. Vise except for $100.00 to be paid to Dr. Guild and to Dr. Vise as provided in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 71-3-15(5) (1972). Nor shall defendant be liable for travel expenses incurred in seeking medical treatment *182 from or at the direction of Dr. Barnes, Dr. Guild or Dr. Vise.

On January 9, 1987, the Commission entered an interlocutory order which remanded the case to the administrative judge for determination of whether the claim should be reopened, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-53 (1972). The administrative judge entered a final order on January 26, 1988, and awarded Jordan temporary total disability benefits at the rate of $112.00 per week, beginning April 17, 1982, through September 3, 1985. He also awarded Jordan permanent partial disability benefits at the rate of $112.00 per week, beginning September 4, 1985, and continuing for a period not to exceed 450 weeks. Additionally, the administrative judge ordered Hercules to provide Jordan with all medical services and supplies such as might be necessary for recovery from his injuries, including specifically, the charges for medical treatment by Dr. Guy Vise, whose treatment was sanctioned by the employer's neglect and refusal to provide proper medical treatment to the claimant. Penalties and sanctions were also awarded against the employer.

Counsel for Hercules filed a petition for review and the Commission entered its order on October 12, 1988, affirming the administrative judge's decision as to temporary total and permanent partial disability benefits, but reversing the ruling which required the employer to pay for medical services rendered by Dr. Barnes, Dr. Guild, and Dr. Vise.

Jordan appealed to the Circuit Court of Harrison County, which held that:

(1) Employer, a self-insurer, shall pay to the claimant temporary total disability benefits at the rate of $112.00 per week for the period commencing April 17, 1982, to November 5, 1983.
(2) Employer, a self-insurer, shall pay to the claimant permanent partial disability for a period of ten (10) weeks at the rate of $112.00 per week, for five percent (5%) permanent partial disability to the upper left extremity.
(3) All medical services and supplies required by the nature of claimant's injury to a scheduled member, as provided by Mississippi Code Annotated Section 71-3-15 (1972). Defendant, Employer, a self-insurer, shall not be liable for payment of medical care and treatment rendered by or at the direction of Dr. Barnes, Dr. Guild or Dr. Vise, nor shall the Defendant be liable for travel expenses incurred in seeking medical treatment from or at the direction of Dr. Barnes, Dr. Guild or Dr. Vise.

I.

Jordan first argues on appeal that the Circuit Court erred in its determination of the duration of his temporary disability. The Commission, based on Dr. Vise's opinion of when the claimant reached maximum medical recovery, awarded Jordan temporary total disability benefits at the rate of $112.00 per week, beginning April 17, 1982, through September 3, 1985. The Circuit Court, apparently relying instead on Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
600 So. 2d 179, 1992 Miss. LEXIS 224, 1992 WL 91786, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jordan-v-hercules-inc-miss-1992.