McElveen v. Croft Metals, Inc.

915 So. 2d 14, 2005 WL 1745001
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJuly 26, 2005
Docket2003-WC-01639-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 915 So. 2d 14 (McElveen v. Croft Metals, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McElveen v. Croft Metals, Inc., 915 So. 2d 14, 2005 WL 1745001 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

915 So.2d 14 (2005)

Truman S. McELVEEN, Appellant
v.
CROFT METALS, INC., and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Appellants.

No. 2003-WC-01639-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

July 26, 2005.
Rehearing Denied November 22, 2005.

*15 John Doyle Moore, Ridgeland, attorney for appellant.

John S. Gonzalez, Gulfport, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., CHANDLER and BARNES, JJ.

BARNES, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Truman Stanley McElveen (McElveen) was denied workers' compensation benefits by an administrative law judge who determined that he had not proved sufficient causal connection between his employment at Croft Metals, Inc. and his mental breakdown on or about February 12, 1999. This decision was affirmed by both the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission and the Circuit Court of Pike County. McElveen now appeals to this Court asserting that (1) the administrative law judge applied an improper standard of proof to his contention that an untoward event occurred; (2) he sustained *16 a work related injury which entitled him to compensation; (3) he was not suffering from a pre-existing disease, handicap, or condition which contributed to his work related injury, and (4) timely and adequate notice of the work related injury was given to the employer. Limited as we are in our scope of appellate review, we, too, affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND DISPOSITION BELOW

¶ 2. McElveen worked for Croft Metals for thirty-three years until having a nervous breakdown on February 12, 1999, and becoming disabled.[1] At the time of his breakdown, McElveen was an area superintendent, overseeing a total of five production lines consisting of approximately 135 workers. As superintendent, McElveen would receive orders from the production control department, issue the orders to the lead person on each line, and oversee the production of the metal frame window assemblies.

¶ 3. McElveen was first treated for nerves and anxiety in 1985 and given a prescription to help him relax; this prescription was never refilled. He also experienced anxiety on occasion following the death of his father in 1992. Xanax was prescribed and taken on an as needed basis for anxiety. McElveen contends that his breakdown on February 12, 1999, was caused not by any pre-existing medical condition but by the culmination of the hours worked and pressure from his supervisors. McElveen testified that during the nine-week period immediately preceding February 12th, he was required to work ten-to-twelve hours per day Monday through Saturday and eight hours on Sunday. McElveen stated that while overtime was required from time to time, overtime "in this magnitude" was not an ordinary event. He asserted that one or more of his five lines were in overtime production for the entire nine-week period but admitted that if his lines were not in production, there was "not a whole lot" for him to do. Although he had four weeks of vacation time to use, McElveen testified that he was discouraged by his superiors from using his vacation time.[2] McElveen also testified that in 1997, he was given a written warning, the only one in his thirty-three years of employment, by his production manager, Lynn Casey, and that Casey telephoned him shortly before February 1999 and cursed him, stating that when Casey got back "them damn windows better be run."

¶ 4. On Friday, February 12, McElveen's production lines were behind, and his workers were "not doing anything"; by the end of the day, they had produced approximately 350 fewer windows than needed for shipment on Monday. McElveen admitted that he never felt his job was in jeopardy because of the low production. In fact, Charlie Greenlee, McElveen's new production manager, put his hand on McElveen's shoulder and told him to "forget it. Go home and forget it. Don't worry about it.... We'll get it on *17 Monday." According to McElveen he "almost broke down and started crying. [H]e was just at that point." McElveen went home and immediately to bed. His wife, Anna, testified that on the morning of February 13, 1999, she awoke to find her husband "babbling," and "everything that was asked of [him] was a work-related answer no matter what the question was." She took him to the doctor, and he was hospitalized at North Shore Psychiatric Hospital.

¶ 5. McElveen called none of his co-workers as witnesses to corroborate his claims. Three employees, however, were called by Croft Metals concerning working conditions during the time in question. Victor Donati, corporate director of human resources, testified that in the latter part of 1998, employees were required to work substantial overtime to meet an order placed by McCoy Lumber Company. This extensive overtime period, however, ended in November 1998. On November 17, Donati sent a memo to the company president acknowledging that salaried employees, including McElveen, worked twelve-hour days and weekends during the McCoy project and recommending that bonuses be given in recognition of their work; the bonuses were subsequently paid. Donati testified that overtime in this industry was not an unusual occurrence but that "very little" overtime was worked in January and February 1999. Based on a sampling of McElveen's three employees with the most overtime hours, Donati testified that, with 173.3 hours per month being the normal production time for a line in a 4.3 week period, these employees worked an average of 355 hours in October 1998, 264 hours in November 1998, 211 hours in December 1998, 179 hours in January 1999 and 163 hours in February 1999.

¶ 6. T.J. Tobias, one of the five lead persons working under McElveen during the time in question, corroborated Donati's testimony that overtime was not unusual and that a substantial amount of overtime was worked in the latter part of 1998. Tobias testified that he worked all, or more, of the hours that other employees in the department worked and that he did not work any Sundays in January and February of 1999. He stated that production had slowed down considerably in the early part of 1999. Angela Downs, another of McElveen's lead persons, confirmed Tobias's testimony that extensive overtime was worked in October of 1998; however, Downs testified that she had not been required to work any Sundays since that time.

¶ 7. Medical testimony was offered by both McElveen and Croft Metals regarding McElveen's mental condition. Dr. William A. Bloom, McElveen's treating psychiatrist, testified via medical deposition that McElveen was genetically predisposed to bipolar disorder, and that the disorder could be brought out by a multitude of factors. Dr. Bloom was of the opinion that McElveen's work schedule of fourteen-hour days for twelve weeks straight aggravated his bipolar condition and caused him to have the mental breakdown. Dr. Bloom acknowledged, however, that if the history provided by McElveen was not accurate, he would be less confident in his opinion as to the causal relationship. Dr. Bloom testified that he could not be sure whether McElveen would have had a mental breakdown if not for the stress of his job. He admitted, however, that the job stressors suffered by McElveen were not unusual for a manager responsible for meeting production with limited resources. Dr. Bloom acknowledged that a person not suffering from the same predisposition as McElveen would "probably not" have reacted the way McElveen did, given the same stressors. Dr. Bloom testified that McElveen had symptoms of anxiety for six or eight years *18

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Bluebook (online)
915 So. 2d 14, 2005 WL 1745001, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcelveen-v-croft-metals-inc-missctapp-2005.