Martin v. Travelers Insurance Co.

200 So. 2d 141, 1967 La. App. LEXIS 5223
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 29, 1967
DocketNo. 7047
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 200 So. 2d 141 (Martin v. Travelers Insurance 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
Martin v. Travelers Insurance Co., 200 So. 2d 141, 1967 La. App. LEXIS 5223 (La. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

LOTTINGER, Judge.

This is a Workmen’s Compensation proceeding which originated as a result of an injury sustained by the plaintiff on June 6, 1964. On the date of the accident, the plaintiff was employed as a structural technician by the Chrysler Corporation at its Michoud Plant in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is undisputed that the duties of the plaintiff come within the purview of the Workmen’s Compensation Act and that his wages at the time of the accident were sufficiently large so as to qualify him for benefits in the amount of $35.00 per week.

The record discloses that on June 6, 1964, while the plaintiff was using a portable grinder, the vibration of the grinder caused a clamp which was hung on a workbench to shake loose and fall on the foot of the plaintiff, striking him principally on the second toe of his left foot. He was taken to the medical department at Michoud where his foot was placed in ice water and subsequently X-rayed. At that time the company doctor also bound all of the plaintiff’s toes together and prescribed some pain medication for him. He was referred by the Michoud medical department to the Houston Clinic where he was treated by Dr. Grunsten. Mr. Martin testified that his treatment at that clinic consisted of ultrasonic water treatment, which afforded him temporary relief. Dr. Grunsten applied a metatarsal bar on the bottom of the plaintiff’s shoe and discharged him in October of 1964. Mr. Martin’s testimony is that he thereafter requested additional medical treatment from his employer because his foot was continually bothering him. He was later referred to Dr. Cahen in New Orleans for evaluation. Thereafter, Mr. Martin consulted with his attorney and began consulting Dr. Haslam, who was still treating the plaintiff at the time of the trial.

The plaintiff testified that at the time of the trial his foot was still giving him a considerable amount of trouble in that it affects him constantly in his walking and [143]*143standing. He testified that there are many activities which he could perform prior to the accident that he cannot perform now and specifically testified that he has not been able since the date of the accident to perform the work which he was doing at the time of the accident. The reason given by him for this inability is that he does not have the requisite balance and strength in his foot. His duties at the time of the accident involved work on an Atlas missile which was 90 feet tall and required a considerable amount of walking of steel beams and platforms high above the ground as well as the use of rung-type ladders.

Immediately after the accident, the plaintiff ceased doing the work that he had been doing at the time of the injury and was assigned to a workbench sitting on a stool building a model test stand and a model spider beam of the test that was going to be performed, which he testified in effect was a model building job. He continued in these duties until September of 1964, at which time he was transferred to another department by his employer. His duties in the new department did not entail prolonged standing, walking, or any climbing whatsoever, but was primarily desk work. In the interim between the plaintiff’s injury and the time of the trial, he received several salary increases, some of which were attributable to his transfer to another department, and some of which were automatic periodic increases.

Mr. Martin was originally employed by Chrysler in October of 1962 as a quality control inspector, and he remained in that position until April of 1964 at which time he was promoted and taken into the Structural Testing Department because of some difficulty which he had had with his supervisor in that department.

A fellow employee of the plaintiff testified that he had been working with the plaintiff on the day that he was injured, and that while he was no longer with Chrysler, he did see the plaintiff approximately twice a week. He testified that since the date of the plaintiff’s injury he had never seen him at any time when he did not limp. He did also testify that during the period when he and the plaintiff did both the same work, their work did require a large amount of climbing on structural steel, walking steel beams which were approximately 18 inches in width, and performing all of these functions at a height of approximately 30 feet above the ground.

The record discloses that the plaintiff was graduated from the Spartan School of Aeronautics in 1941, attended numerous technical schools in the United States Air Force during World War II, and thereafter was employed by Douglas Aircraft Corporation. He attended training programs in specific instructions in quality control, progressed to technical reading and instruction, and eventually to general dynamics which he testified provided him with the cyrogenic and pyrotechnic and technical training necessary for missiles and space vehicles. He testified that he also attended Chrysler’s school in white-room procedures quality control.

One of Chrysler’s employment representatives, Mr. Canaga, testified with reference to the plaintiff’s employment with Chrysler and specifically with reference to the change in jobs which the plaintiff had undergone in September of 1964 from a test and development technician to a job of manufacturing specifications man. He testified that the latter position was a higher rated salary job which would have and did create an immediate salary increase for the plaintiff as well as a change of department. He testified that the change also was from a manual type of work to a more mental type of work, and also said that transfers of this type were quite often made. He said that these were made in instances where a man who had done manual work had certain skills which could be utilized in higher classified jobs. He cited the example of manual workers who have the capability of reading blueprints as well as the ability to work with different types of mechanical equipment. He testified that [144]*144these persons became quite valuable because as above average type mechanics with extra knowledge who could work into semi-engineering classifications, they made valuable employees because of their first-hand knowledge of what must transpire in a shop. He classified the plaintiff as one of these persons who had the ability to work with his hands manually as well as sufficient technical knowledge to enable him to perform this semi-engineering type of work. Mr. Canaga testified that on several occasions he had noticed the plaintiff walking without a limp.

With reference to the transfer of the plaintiff in September of 1964, there is testimony in the record to the effect that there were five candidates for this particular job and that each of them were interviewed prior to selection. Mr. Canaga testified that Mr. Martin was the best qualified applicant of the group interviewed for the job. He stated that the plaintiff was a very good mechanic, that he had an above average degree of intelligence and was precisely the type of shop employee that Chrysler likes to promote into the semi-engineering positions.

The supervisor of the manufacturing specifications unit to which plaintiff was transferred in September of 1964 testified as to the duties of the plaintiff and as to the training which the plaintiff had to be given after the transfer. He testified that within a week after the transfer, the plaintiff was actually doing a portion of the work and that the 30 day and 60 day evaluation rendered on the plaintiff showed that his work was above average.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
200 So. 2d 141, 1967 La. App. LEXIS 5223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-travelers-insurance-co-lactapp-1967.