Odd Jobs & More & Nationwide Insurance Co. v. Reid

384 S.W.3d 630, 2011 Ark. App. 450, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 478
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedJune 22, 2011
DocketNo. CA 10-1234
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 384 S.W.3d 630 (Odd Jobs & More & Nationwide Insurance Co. v. Reid) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Odd Jobs & More & Nationwide Insurance Co. v. Reid, 384 S.W.3d 630, 2011 Ark. App. 450, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 478 (Ark. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

ROBIN F. WYNNE, Judge.

hOdd Jobs & More and Nationwide Insurance Company appeal from a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Commission in which the Commission awarded benefits to Rosewell Reid for injuries to it determined were compensable. On appeal, appellants argue that the Commission erred in determining that an assault by a third party upon Mr. Reid was compensable. We affirm the decision of the Commission.

Mr. Reid sustained injuries after he was attacked by a third-party assailant while working in an apartment at the Chateau Deville Apartments in Little Rock. At the time he sustained his injuries, Mr. Reid worked as a painter for Odd Jobs & More. A hearing was held before an administrative law judge to contest the compensability of Mr. Reid’s injuries. At the hearing, Mr. Reid testified that he was inside the apartment, inspecting a water leak, on June 4, 2009, when someone came up behind him and hit him in the head. The last thing Mr. |2Reid remembered of that day was telling a woman outside of the apartment to call an ambulance. The assailant took thirty-six dollars and a cell phone from him. He sustained injuries to his skull that resulted in the loss of a portion of his skull. Mr. Reid testified that since the incident he has lost strength in his arms and his left foot. On a typical day, he exercises and sits around watching television. He maintained that he is not capable of performing house or yard work.

Lois Reid, Mr. Reid’s wife, testified that she has to do everything for him due to his injuries. Mr. Reid stated that the Chateau Deville Apartments are located in a rough neighborhood and that he had been “going over there for a lot of years” painting apartments. Mr. Reid testified that he had seen fights at the apartments. He denied feeling like he was being placed at risk while working at the apartments. William Mourot, the owner of Odd Jobs & More, testified that the company had been painting at the apartment complex for thirty years and that Mr. Reid worked for him for twenty years. Mr. Mourot denied having any problems with violence at the apartments. He further stated that he never felt like any of his employees were placed at any increased risk while working at the complex and that he did not recall Mr. Reid ever expressing concern for his safety. According to Mr. Mourot, Mr. Reid had a key to gain access to the apartment.

Dwayne Robinson, the property manager at Chateau Deville Apartments, testified that in June 2009, the apartment complex had night security from eight p.m. until four a.m. Mr. Robinson never witnessed any assaults at the apartments, nor1 had any employees of the | sapartments or contractors who worked on the apartments ever come to him and complained of being assaulted or threatened. The only employee who would have been present at the time Mr. Reid was attacked was the on-site maintenance person.

Detective Troy Ellison with the Little Rock Police Department testified that the Chateau Deville Apartments were placed into the city’s crime-abatement program (CAP) in 2005 due to reports of criminal activity at the complex. The complex reached an agreement with the city in which the complex agreed to provide twenty-four-hour security. Prior to 2009, it was determined by the city that the complex had complied with the agreement, and the complex was released from the CAP program. Detective Ellison testified that, based upon the reports of criminal activity at the complex since it was released from the CAP program, he would consider placing the complex back into the program.

Danny Castleberry testified that he was walking in front of the apartment complex at approximately six-thirty a.m. on May 31, 2009, when Shannon Bradford, the same person who attacked Mr. Reid, asked him if he had a cigarette. Mr. Castleberry replied no and Bradford followed him, carrying a paring knife. Bradford demanded Mr. Castleberry’s wallet. Mr. Castleberry threw the money he had on the ground; Bradford then threw a brick at Mr. Castle-berry, which broke Mr. Castleberry’s left arm.

Detective Robert Martin with the Little Rock Police Department testified that he interviewed Bradford following the assault on Mr. Reid. Bradford told police in the interview that he decided to attack Mr. Reid after he saw Mr. Reid walk from the apartment to his |4truck to retrieve a hammer, then return to the apartment. Bradford took what he described as a “small boulder,” went into the apartment, and struck Mr. Reid several times. Detective Martin testified that Bradford did not indicate that he chose the location of the assault due to the lack of security at the complex.

In an opinion filed on June 29, 2010, the ALJ found that Mr. Reid sustained a com-pensable injury on or about June 4, 2009, and awarded benefits to him. In an opinion filed on September 30, 2010, the Commission affirmed and adopted the decision of the ALJ. Appellants have appealed to this court from the decision of the Commission.

In appeals involving claims for workers’ compensation, our court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commission’s decision and affirms the decision if it is supported by substantial evidence. Hope School Dist. v. Wilson, 2011 Ark. App. 219, 382 S.W.3d 782. Substantial evidence exists if reasonable minds could reach the Commission’s conclusion. Id. The issue is not whether the appellate court might have reached a different result from the Commission; if reasonable minds could reach the result found by the Commission, the appellate court must affirm. Id.

Appellants argue on appeal that the Commission’s finding that Mr. Reid sustained a compensable injury is not supported by substantial evidence. In order to prove a compensable injury as a result of a specific incident which is identifiable by time and place of occurrence, a claimant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) an injury arising out of and in the course of employment; (2) that the injury caused internal or external harm to the body | ¡¡which required medical services or resulted in disability or death; (3) medical evidence supported by objective findings, as defined in Ark.Code Ann. § 11 — 9— 102(16), establishing the injury; (4) that the injury was caused by a specific incident identifiable by time and place of occurrence. Ark.Code Ann. § 11-9-102(4)(A)(i) (Supp.2009). Appellants argue specifically that, although the evidence establishes that Mr. Reid did sustain an injury that resulted in harm while performing his work duties, he failed to prove that the injury “arose out of’ his employment.

Mr. Reid was the victim of an assault by a third party. An assault arises out of the employment either if the risk of assault is increased by the nature or setting of the work or if the reason for the assault was a quarrel having its origin in the work. Bryan v. Best Western/Coachman’s Inn, 47 Ark.App. 75, 78, 885 S.W.2d 28, 29 (1994) (citing Westark Specialties, Inc. v. Lindsey, 259 Ark. 351, 532 S.W.2d 757 (1976); San Antonio Shoes v. Beaty, 28 Ark.App. 201, 771 S.W.2d 802 (1989); 1 Arthur Larson, The Law of Workmen’s Compensation § 11 (1993)).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
384 S.W.3d 630, 2011 Ark. App. 450, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 478, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/odd-jobs-more-nationwide-insurance-co-v-reid-arkctapp-2011.