Nissan North America v. Short

942 So. 2d 276, 2006 WL 3290814
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedNovember 14, 2006
Docket2005-WC-01522-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 942 So. 2d 276 (Nissan North America v. Short) 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
Nissan North America v. Short, 942 So. 2d 276, 2006 WL 3290814 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

942 So.2d 276 (2006)

NISSAN NORTH AMERICA and Royal Insurance Company of America, Appellants,
v.
Ricardo V. SHORT, Appellee.

No. 2005-WC-01522-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

November 14, 2006.

*277 Simpson Gray Edmondson, Franklin Williams, attorneys for appellant.

Byron Russell Mobley, William Albert Brown, Hernando, attorneys for appellee.

Before LEE, P.J., CHANDLER, GRIFFIS and ROBERTS, JJ.

GRIFFIS, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Nissan of North America and Royal Insurance Company of America (collectively referred to as "Nissan") appeal the award of workers compensation benefits to Ricardo Short. We find no error and affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. Short was employed at Nissan. On May 25, 2000, Short suffered a back injury while unloading a courier truck. The parties stipulate that Short's injury was compensable.

¶ 3. After his injury, Short visited Dr. Walt Carnahan, a family practitioner, who provided prescription medication and restricted Short to light duty. After the *278 pain worsened, Dr. Carnahan referred Short to Dr. Craig Clark, a neurosurgeon, for further treatment. Dr. Clark diagnosed Short with a herniated disc. On July 11, 2000, after unsuccessful treatment that consisted of prescription medications and rest, Dr. Clark performed surgery on Short. On October 25, 2000, Dr. Clark released Short for work with the restriction of light duty.

¶ 4. When he arrived at Nissan on October 25, 2000, Short was informed that he was on lay-off status subject to re-hire. His status was pursuant to Nissan's leave of absence policy. The policy stated that if Short returned from medical leave within twelve weeks or less, he would be reinstated to his current or equivalent position. Short's twelve week medical leave period ended on September 10, 2000. As a result, pursuant to the leave policy, Nissan permanently filled Short's position.

¶ 5. Short then began to search for other employment. He sent out thirty resumes and visited around twenty different businesses. After a fairly thorough search, Short gained part-time employment at Oasis Imagining, Inc., for which he was paid $9.50 an hour. After working for Oasis part-time, he was hired on a full-time basis and paid $14.33 an hour, with a bonus of $1 per hour for a full forty hour week. Short's work duties include inventory control, which seldom requires lifting and when lifting is required Short receives help.

¶ 6. As of January 31, 2001, Dr. Clark determined that Short had reached maximum medical improvement and assessed a ten percent impairment rating to the body as a whole. Dr. Clark assigned no permanent restrictions to Short.

¶ 7. Short continued to complain of stiffness, pain and cramping in his back and legs. However, Short did not return to Dr. Clark for further treatment or additional pain medication. Instead, Short went to see Dr. Shawn Helmhout, another family practitioner, for pain medication, muscle relaxers, and a cortisone injection.

¶ 8. Short worked for Nissan for twelve years, ten years in Chicago and two years in Olive Branch. Prior to that, he worked at Tell Labs in Illinois in their warehouse and also in the warehouse for Micro Mart in Atlanta. While in Chicago, Short attended Prairie State Community College for three semesters and has a certificate of completion in auto mechanics, although he never worked in that area. For most of his career, Short worked as a warehouse operator, which required him to lift boxes of varying weight.

¶ 9. Short filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits. The administrative law judge awarded Short $50 per week for 450 weeks for permanent partial disability. Short appealed to the Workers' Compensation Commission. The Commission awarded Short $256.82 per week for 450 weeks. Both parties then appealed to the Circuit Court of DeSoto County. The circuit court affirmed the Commission. Nissan appeals the circuit court's decision, and the appeal has been deflected here for review.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 10. It is well settled that the Mississippi Worker's Compensation Commission is the ultimate fact-finder in cases of this kind. Smith v. Jackson Constr. Co., 607 So.2d 1119, 1123-24 (Miss.1992). The findings of fact by the Commission are binding on the appellate court as long as they are supported by substantial evidence. Hedge v. Leggett & Platt, Inc., 641 So.2d 9, 12 (Miss.1994). This Court will reverse the Commission's order "only if it finds that the order is clearly erroneous and contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence." Fought v. Stuart C. Irby, 523 *279 So.2d 314, 317 (Miss.1988) (citing Myles v. Rockwell International, 445 So.2d 528, 536 (Miss.1983)). The supreme court has defined a decision as clearly erroneous when "although there is some slight evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made by the Commission in its findings of fact and in its application of the Act." Good Earth Dev., Inc. v. Rogers, 800 So.2d 1164, 1166 (¶ 4) (Miss.Ct.App.2001) (quoting J.R. Logging v. Halford, 765 So.2d 580, 583 (¶¶ 12-13) (Miss.Ct.App.2000)). However, "where the Commission has misapprehended the controlling legal principles, we will reverse, for our review in that event is de novo." Smith, 607 So.2d at 1125.

ANALYSIS

¶ 11. The question presented is whether the Commission should have awarded Short permanent partial disability benefits of $256.82 per week for 450 weeks. Nissan alleges several errors in how the Commission arrived at this particular amount. Nissan argues that we should reverse because: (1) the Commission's order contains substantial errors of law; (2) the Commission erred with the computation of post-injury wage earning capacity, and (3) Short cannot demonstrate a loss of wage earning capacity.

I. Whether the full order contains substantial errors of law.

A. The Commission misstates the controlling statute.

¶ 12. Nissan argues that the Commission misstated the controlling statute, Mississippi Code Annotated Section 71-3-17 (Rev.2000). Nissan contends that since this is an injury to the body as a whole then Section 71-3-17(25) applies. Section 71-3-17(25) provides in part that: "compensation shall be sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66-2/3%) of the difference between his average weekly wages, subject to the maximum limitations as to weekly benefits set up in this chapter, and his wage-earning capacity thereafter in the same employment or otherwise[.]" (emphasis added). The Commission's order provided that compensation is "calculated by computing sixty-six and two-thirds of the difference between the claimant's average weekly wage pre- and post-injury, subject to the maximum weekly benefits, which in the case of Mr. Short was $303.35 per week." In this finding, the Commission incorrectly replaced post-injury wage-earning capacity, as stated in the statute, with actual post-injury wage.

¶ 13. Indeed, this was a misstatement of the statute. Nevertheless, we must examine how the Commission determined Short's partial disability. It appears that the Commission did not make its determination based solely on Short's actual post-injury wages.

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Bluebook (online)
942 So. 2d 276, 2006 WL 3290814, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nissan-north-america-v-short-missctapp-2006.