Patrick v. Weyerhaeuser Co.

CourtNorth Carolina Industrial Commission
DecidedAugust 15, 2003
DocketI.C. NO. 000344
StatusPublished

This text of Patrick v. Weyerhaeuser Co. (Patrick v. Weyerhaeuser Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Carolina Industrial Commission primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Patrick v. Weyerhaeuser Co., (N.C. Super. Ct. 2003).

Opinions

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Upon review of the competent evidence of record with reference to the errors assigned, and finding no good grounds to receive further evidence or to rehear the parties or their representatives, the Full Commission upon reconsideration of the evidence reverses the Opinion and Award of the Deputy Commissioner.

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The Full Commission finds as fact and concludes as matters of law the following, which were entered into by the parties at the hearing before the Deputy Commissioner and in a Pre-Trial Agreement as:

STIPULATIONS
1. Plaintiff was employed by defendant Weyerhaeuser Company at its facility in Plymouth, North Carolina, from 28 April 1972 until 30 April 1992.

2. Defendant Weyerhaeuser Company was self-insured during the time of plaintiff's employment with defendant.

3. It is stipulated that plaintiff was last injuriously exposed to asbestos during plaintiff's employment with defendant Weyerhaeuser Company, and specifically, that plaintiff was exposed to asbestos for 30 days within a seven month period, as required by N.C. Gen. Stat. §97-57.

4. It is stipulated that defendant manufactures paper and paper products such as paper for crafts, paper bags, boxes and pulp for baby diapers. The approximate size of defendant's plant in Plymouth, North Carolina, is of a mile long. The entire facility is built on approximately 350 acres and encompasses about 20 different buildings. The newest building was built in the 1960's and the vast majority of the insulation used in the original construction of the buildings was asbestos containing. There are steam-producing boilers used at the facility in Plymouth, North Carolina. In addition, there are hundreds of miles of steam pipes that were covered with asbestos insulation. The heat coming off the steam pipes is used, among other things, to dry the wet pulp/paper.

5. It is stipulated that plaintiff's income for 52 weeks prior to her retirement was $37,240.48.

6. The parties are subject to the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act, defendant Weyerhaeuser Company employing the requisite number of employees to be bound under the provisions of said act.

7. Should N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 97-60 through 97-61.7 be declared unconstitutional, plaintiff reserves the right to offer additional testimony on the issues of loss of wage earning capacity and/or disability. Defendant objects thereto.

8. The relevant medical records of plaintiff including documentation from Dr. Anderson, Dr. Curseen, Dr. Grauel, Dr. Dula, Dr. Rao, Dr. Lucas and Dr. Wu have been stipulated into evidence and were stipulated into evidence as Stipulated Exhibit 1.

9. The transcript of Joseph Wendlick's testimony at civil trial, the curriculum vitae of Joseph Wendlick and other documentation produced by defendant in discovery have been stipulated into evidence as Stipulated Exhibit 2.

10. The employment and income records of plaintiff have been stipulated into evidence as Stipulated Exhibit 3.

11. Defendant stipulates all the procedures used in Weyerhaeuser's asbestos medical surveillance program at its facility in Plymouth, North Carolina, were consistent with those outlined as part of the North Carolina Dusty Trades Program which defendant contends is contained in N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 97-60 through 97-61.7. Further, that these procedures were in place during plaintiff's employment at the Plymouth facility.

12. Defendant stipulates the medical monitoring procedures used in its asbestos medical surveillance program in all Weyerhaeuser plants in the State of North Carolina were the same.

13. Defendant stipulates that the Weyerhaeuser facilities to which Mr. Joseph Wendlick referred to in his deposition transcript which has been stipulated into evidence included the facilities in North Carolina.

14. Should plaintiff's claim be found compensable, the deputy commissioner may include in his Opinion and Award the following language:

The parties have resolved plaintiff's claim for an award of a 10% penalty pursuant to G.S. § 97-12 on a compromise basis. Pursuant to the agreement of the parties, defendant shall pay to plaintiff, in addition to the compensation awarded herein, an additional 5% of all such compensation, with the exception of medical compensation pursuant to G.S. § 97-25. As to compensation ordered paid to plaintiff in a lump sum, defendant shall pay an additional 5% of any such lump sum. As to any weekly compensation awarded plaintiff, defendant shall increase the amount of such weekly compensation by 5%. Defendant shall be subjected to a late penalty pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-18.

15. On 24 April 2001, defendant stipulated that plaintiff does suffer from asbestosis on the record during the beginning of the deposition of Dr. Dula rendering is testimony unnecessary. Defendant agreed to stipulate that plaintiff has asbestosis after reviewing the deposition transcript of the Advisory Medical panel Physician, Dr. Linda Anderson. Therefore, this is no longer a contested issue in this case.

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EVIDENTIARY RULINGS
The objections raised in the depositions of Linda C. Anderson, M.D., Albert F. Curseen, M.D., Phillip H. Lucas, M.D., and John Wen-Wei Wu, M.D., are OVERRULED.

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Based upon all of the competent evidence of record, the Full Commission makes the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT
1. This matter came on for hearing before the Commission after plaintiff's first examination and medical reports establishing that he has asbestosis. Plaintiff retired from employment with defendant on 30 April 1992, prior to the date of her diagnosis of asbestosis on 1 September 1999.

2. Plaintiff has contracted asbestosis and asbestosis-related pleural disease as a result of her injurious exposure to the hazards of asbestos while employed by defendant, Weyerhaeuser Company.

3. Based upon the stipulated description of plaintiff's job duties while employed by defendant and other evidence submitted, the Full Commission finds as fact that plaintiff was exposed to asbestos containing materials on a regular basis for more than 30 working days or parts thereof inside of seven consecutive months from 1 January 1946 to 30 December 1951 and from 28 April 1972 until 30 April 1992.

4. Plaintiff was an employee of defendant at its Plymouth, North Carolina facility from 28 April 1972 until 30 April 1992.

5. Plaintiff was exposed to asbestos dust from a variety of sources at defendant's facility in Plymouth, North Carolina. As a utility worker, plaintiff cleaned up the plywood department and would use an air hose to blow down asbestos containing dryers and asbestos insulated stem pipes. She cleaned up after the millwrights with brooms, shovels and air hoses. The millwrights worked on the pipes and left behind asbestos containing debris/insulation from the steam pipes on the floor. She also worked under steam lines in the hydropump area that were insulated with asbestos that appeared to be deteriorated and damaged. Plaintiff was also exposed to the asbestos containing brake pads on the paper cutter machines. She did not wear a respirator for protection against her asbestos exposure.

6.

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Bluebook (online)
Patrick v. Weyerhaeuser Co., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/patrick-v-weyerhaeuser-co-ncworkcompcom-2003.