Long v. Alabama Petroleum Co.

3 La. App. 109, 1925 La. App. LEXIS 555
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 4, 1925
DocketNo. 2454
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 3 La. App. 109 (Long v. Alabama Petroleum 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
Long v. Alabama Petroleum Co., 3 La. App. 109, 1925 La. App. LEXIS 555 (La. Ct. App. 1925).

Opinion

ODOM, J.

Plaintiff brings this suit under the workmen’s compensation act to [110]*110recover compensation of $20.00 per week for 400 weeks.

He alleges that he was employed by defendant as a laborer on a drilling rig in Webster parish at a weekly wage of $37.50, and that on January 26, 1925, while at work, he received injuries which have permanently, totally disabled him to do work of a reasonable character.

It is alleged that the Maryland Casualty Company Warranted and insured the Alabama Petroleum Company and has agreed to pay all such sums, in cases of this kind, as the employer may be ordered to pay, and that said insurance or guarantee company is a proper party defendant.

The Alabama Petroleum Company answered admitting the employment of plaintiff and the weekly wage and the injury as alleged but denying that the injury to plaintiff was as serious as claimed by him.

It is especially alleged in answer that defendant has not refused to pay plaintiff compensation and that if there were delays in making the payments such delays were due to the fact that respondent was waiting for a report from the physician who was treating plaintiff as to the extent of his injuries.

And it is further alleged that plaintiff is not permanently injured but was only partially, temporarily disabled and that he has suffered disability to labor for a period of only sixteen weeks.

The Maryland Casualty Company answered with practically the same admissions and denials as those set up by its co-defendant, and especially alleged that plaintiff has been paid seven weeks’ compensation at $20.00 a week and prays that said amount be credited on whatever judgment may be rendered against it.

•There was judgment in the lower court against both defendants in solido for compensation in favor of plaintiff at $20.00 per week during plaintiff’s disability, not to exceed 400 weeks, less a credit of $140.00 paid.

From this judgment defendants have appealed.

OPINION.

The particular kind of work which plaintiff was doing when injured was the pulling of rods and tubing out of. old wells. During these operations something hit the plaintiff on the shoulder and side, knocking him down'and breaking, as he thinks, three of his ribs.

He says he was rendered unable to work for quite a while.

Later on, at the suggestion of his brother who lives at Smackover, Arkansas, he went to that place and was given employment in the Smackover oil fields by the Amanto Petroleum Company as a gauger, which is light work. He held the place for about fifteen days but had to give it up because he could not climb the steps to the top’ of the tanks.

He testified that exercise of any kind causes pain in the region of the kidneys and that his condition has not improved and he is not able as yet to do work of a reasonable character. He says:

“When I do anything that will cause this pain in here it will cause my kidneys to throw off water that looks like blood.”

He further says that any kind of exercise gives him pain. That he cannot walk or allow his body to remain in one position for very long at a time, although, he says, he sleeps very well and usually about eight hours' during the night, but that he cannot lie comfortably in one position very long.

He has had no work since the latter part of April—about six weeks prior to the trial.

He was injured January 26, 1925.

He indicates a willingness to work but says he is unable to do so on account of the condition of his kidneys and his side.

[111]*111Doctor L. H. Pirkle, who was called as a witness by defendants, treated the plaintiff immediately following the accident.

He testified that he found an injury to the right side in the region of the ribs and at the time he suspected that his ninth and tenth ribs were fractured. He ordered an x-ray made, which showed that the tenth and eleventh ribs on the right side were fractured, with some displacement of the fragments of the eleventh rib, about three-eighths of an inch, with a curving towards the right side. He had an examination of plaintiff’s urine made, which showed—

“a fairly large amount of pus present at that time.”

He treated the patient from 28th of January to 16th of February, and says he was in a fairly good condition when he discharged him, and says he was a little sore over his side, had some callous over the affected ribs, but able to get around and doing fairly well, and says his injuries were about as completely healed as could be expected at that time.

Doctor Pirkle’s attention was called to the testimony of Doctor Butler who made an examination of plaintiff’s urine a few days previous to the trial, which showed blood and pus, and he was asked what that would indicate, and he said:

“Well, that would indicate that he has some inflammatory condition in the genitourinary tract. It would be impossible from that alone to tell where it was coming from.”

He said there would have to be some further examination in order to tell just where it was coming from, and that the blood and pus might be coming from the kidneys, the bladder, the urethra or any where else along the tract. He says there are no indications that plaintiff had any veneral disease and that

“We found no indications of anything except this pus in the urine, which would indicate trouble in the tract somewhere that we did not locate; * *

His attention was called to the testimony of Doctor Cassity and -of Doctor Butler with reference to the condition of plaintiff’s urine and that he had pyloritus and was asked if he considered the condition serious, and he said:

“That would be determined by the character of the inflammation; it might be of such character that it would respond readily to treatment and it might not respond readily.”

He further testified that in his opinion the injury described would not produce pus in the kidneys but it might so lower the vitality of the kidneys that a germ might be deposited in them and set up inflammation and cause pyloritus; and he said the condition might or might not be serious.

Doctor Boyce, who is also connected with the Tri-State Sanitarium, made an examination of the plaintiff in connection with Doctor Pirkle’s treatment of him and gave about the same testimony with reference to the injury and the pus in the urine.

He made another examination in April and found no pus in the urine. He says, however, that at the time patient was in the Sanitarium he said he had had gonorrhoea while he was in the navy and for that reason could not say what is the cause of plaintiff’s present trouble; that if he had ever had a venereal disease that might be the cause of his present condition.

Plaintiff says he never had any venereal disease and says Doctor Boyce is mistaken in saying that he admitted having had gonorrhoea. - He explained that while he was in the Sanitarium, Doctor Boyce was treating a patient who had a prostate case and while he was present the question of medicine used came up and that he told Doctor Boyce that while in the navy he [112]*112had seen a ease of that kind treated and from that learned something of the treatment administered.

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Related

Bartley v. Insurance Co. of North America
406 So. 2d 712 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1981)

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Bluebook (online)
3 La. App. 109, 1925 La. App. LEXIS 555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/long-v-alabama-petroleum-co-lactapp-1925.