M. B. McMahan Lumber Co. v. Ownby

232 S.W.2d 12, 191 Tenn. 143, 27 Beeler 143, 1950 Tenn. LEXIS 558
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 15, 1950
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 232 S.W.2d 12 (M. B. McMahan Lumber Co. v. Ownby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
M. B. McMahan Lumber Co. v. Ownby, 232 S.W.2d 12, 191 Tenn. 143, 27 Beeler 143, 1950 Tenn. LEXIS 558 (Tenn. 1950).

Opinion

Mr. Justice BurNett

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is a Workmen’s Compensation suit. Three questions are raised, namely:

“ 1. Whether or not an employee suffering an injury to a foot and ankle, which is not totally disabling, is confined to a recovery for injury to a specific member or can he recover for permanent partial disability to his body as a whole?'
[145]*145“2. Whether or not refusal to wear a foot brace which is tendered to him by his employer’s doctor, who states that the brace will remedy his condition, bars a recovery under the Workmen’s Compensation Act by an employee 1
“3. Whether or not the trial court erred in overruling a motion for written findings of fact?”

The trial judge, in his judgment awarding compensation, found that the appellee worked for the appellant “logging with horses”; that “he caught his foot and ankle between a log and a stump or some other object and his ankle was twisted and sprained by stretching and tearing the ligaments holding the joints together as set out in the original petition. This injury left petitioner’s foot and ankle tender with inability to bear the entire weight on his left foot. When he exercises said foot, it becomes swollen and hurts him at night. He has tried to do farm work and is unable to do this kind of work. He has been hiring his plowing done on the farm. ’ ’

“Petitioner is an uneducated man and has no profession except common labor and his profession has been that of a lumberman practically all his life. He is now unable to carry on in this occupation.”

After this finding the trial judge further said: “Under the facts and authority petitioner’s disability is not limited to a partial loss of the foot. As a result of said injuries the court finds petitioner has a permanent, partial disability to the extent of 83-%%; that the weekly wage of petitioner, Lawrence Ownby, prior to his injury was $18.00 per week; ’ ’

The record shows that as a result of this injury this employee was unable to do any manual labor but that he [146]*146did, subsequent to tbe injury, help Ms wife around a little store which they had and by agreement his wages, for the question of fizing his payments prior to the institution of this suit, were $3 per week. Two of the doctors on behalf of the employee testified, that insofar as the injury was concerned, he was totally disabled from doing logging or any heavy manual labor. The doctors for the employee and the employer though, fixed the disability to the foot alone as disabled at from 25 to 50 percent. The doctor, who was a recognized specialist on the subject, for the employer fixed disability as to the foot at 25 percent.

There is no proof in the record as to whether or not the employee has been offered any light work since this accident or that he had attempted to get any light work or other work of a similar nature other than helping his wife in their store at the agreed compensation of $3 per week.

The physician for the employer had made a specially built brace for this foot and ankle, and recommended that the employee wear it; it was the feeling of this doctor that if this brace was worn a .sufficient length of time that the employee could work and the foot and ankle would then heal up. Apparently the employee was pained so by trying to wear this brace that he did not wear it. There is little debate on this question in the lower court, only the evidence by the doctor as above referred to, and there is nothing for us to go on herein as to whether or not the employee was justified in not wearing this brace and attempting to heal this injury. Certainly proof is required on the subject before we can be in a position to say whether or not the employee was [147]*147justified in not wearing it, and, whether or not by wearing it the injury might be healed.

As to whether or not such a brace is compulsory and should be worn by the employee, in an attempt to cure this injury, is a related question to a compulsory surgical operation and should be treated and classified under the provisions of the Act applicable thereto. A very able discussion of the matter, as to when compulsory operations should be applied is found in the case of Russell v. Virginia Bridge & Iron Co., 172 Tenn. 268, beginning at page 272, 111 S. W. (2d) 1027. The court there quotes from many cases on the subject to which we refer counsel for further information.

The trial judge made no written finding of fact herein, other than that outlined in the decree above referred to, for our information and guidance in determining this case. It is indeed very helpful, especially in view of the fact that we are bound by the finding of fact of the trial judge, on the factual situation, when there is any material evidence to support these findings of fact. In view of this situation, it seems to us that the trial judge should at least give a limited finding of fact so we can definitely conclude on what basis he fixed compensation below. Of course, it is not necessary that he specifically point out the section of the Act and subdivision thereof from which he bases his conclusion because we can determine this by the result of the conclusion. Clearly, it would be more helpful if this were done.

It is perfectly obvious from reading this record and the judgment of the trial court that it was the purpose of the trial court, in fixing the compensation, that he based the compensation on loss of earning capacity and not on the basis of statutory liability for the loss of one [148]*148of the members. The basis for such a holding is that the disability found by the trial judge is total. When the disability is thus found to be total as a result of an injury to one of the specified members then sub-section (e) of Code Section 6878 is the applicable section under which disability is fixed. This is the basis upon which compensation has been fixed on the loss of earning - capacity rather than on the loss of a member in our cases of Hix v. Cassetty, 186 Tenn. 343, 210 S. W. (2d) 481; Plumlee v. Maryland Casualty Co., 184 Tenn. 497, 201 S. W. (2d) 664, and Johnson v. Anderson, 188 Tenn. 194, 217 S. W. (2d) 939, and older cases cited in these cases, particularly the case of Russell v. Virginia Bridge & Iron Co., supra.

When the disability suffered by reason of injury to one of the specified members is permanent partial disability then sub-section (e) of the Act above referred to is not applicable. The section of the Act applicable under permanent partial disability to one of the specified members is subdivision (c), which under Chapter 139, Section 6 of the Public Acts of 1947 (the applicable act here because the accident happened in September, 1947, and the act went into effect in March of that year) provides that:

“(c) Permanent partial disability. — In case of disability partial in character, but adjudged to be permanent, there shall be paid to the injured employee, in addition to the benefits provided by Section 6875, and in lieu of all other compensation: (1) 60% of his average weekly wages for the healing period, which is defined as that period for healing of the injury immediately following the accident, not exceeding eight (8) weeks, subject to the same limitation as to minimum and maximum as provided in subsection (a) of this section, and [149]

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Bluebook (online)
232 S.W.2d 12, 191 Tenn. 143, 27 Beeler 143, 1950 Tenn. LEXIS 558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/m-b-mcmahan-lumber-co-v-ownby-tenn-1950.