Perez v. Culp

CourtNorth Carolina Industrial Commission
DecidedAugust 4, 2004
DocketI.C. NO. 041466
StatusPublished

This text of Perez v. Culp (Perez v. Culp) 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
Perez v. Culp, (N.C. Super. Ct. 2004).

Opinions

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Based upon review of all of the competent evidence of record with reference to the errors assigned and finding no good grounds to reconsider the evidence, receive further evidence, rehear the parties or their representatives, the Full Commission AFFIRMS, with some modifications, the Opinion and Award of the Deputy Commissioner.

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

STIPULATIONS
1. On May 5, 2000, the parties were subject to and bound by the provisions of the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act.

2. The employer-employee relationship existed between plaintiff Alicia Perez and defendant-employer Culp, Inc.

3. Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company was the carrier on the risk for defendant-employer.

4. Plaintiff's average weekly wage shall be determined by the Commission in accordance with a Form 22 prepared by the employer.

5. The carrier has paid compensation to the employee for the periods May 9, 2000 to May 22, 2000, May 25, 2000 to June 4, 2000, June 7, 2000 and June 26, 2000 to July 2, 2000.

6. The parties stipulated into evidence the following at the hearing before Deputy Commissioner Chapman:

a. Stipulated Exhibit 1 — Form 22 dated May 5, 2000.

b. Stipulated Exhibit 2 — Plaintiff's answers to defendants' interrogatories.

c. Stipulated Exhibit 3 — Packet of documents from plaintiff's personnel file.

d. Stipulated Exhibit 4 — Supervisor's investigation report.

e. Stipulated Exhibit 5 — Packet of medical records and reports, which were submitted after the hearing before the Deputy Commissioner.

7. The issues before the Commission are whether plaintiff is entitled to additional benefits or compensation related to her May 5, 2000 injury by accident; was plaintiff at maximum medical improvement on January 2, 2001; did plaintiff sustain permanent partial impairment; did plaintiff sustain a change of condition in April, 2002; whether plaintiff's back symptoms are related to her injury by accident; did plaintiff refuse to accept suitable employment pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-32; and are defendants entitled to a credit for overpayment of compensation due to the use of an incorrect average weekly wage.

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

FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Plaintiff was forty years old at the time of the hearing before the Deputy Commissioner and completed the sixth grade in Mexico. Plaintiff began working for defendants in June 1998 as a tasland operator.

2. Plaintiff's job involved operating twenty-five machines which made yarn, and her duties included changing thread, putting empty cones onto the machine, doffing the cones once they were full of yarn, tying broken ends, fixing breakdowns and making sure that the yarn produced was of suitable quality.

3. On May 5, 2000, plaintiff sustained a compensable injury by accident when a gear weighing five to ten pounds fell three to four feet and struck the top of her right knee as she was squatting beside one of her machines. Defendants admitted compensability for the injury by a Form 60 signed June 15, 2000. Since the injury occurred close to the end of her shift on a Friday, plaintiff reported the injury and took some over-the-counter pain medication but did not ask to see a doctor. The following Monday, she called the plant and requested medical treatment.

4. Plaintiff was then sent to Monroe Urgent Care where Dr. H. D. Belk examined her. He noted swelling and bruising of her knee and diagnosed her with a severe contusion of her right thigh, knee and tibia. Although Dr. Belk initially restricted plaintiff to sedentary work, she returned to the clinic the next day complaining of increased symptoms and was taken completely out of work at that time.

5. Despite treatment with rest, medication and later physical therapy, plaintiff continued to report persistent symptoms. Since she had prominent varicose veins, Dr. Belk was concerned that plaintiff might have a clot, so she was referred for a Doppler study to rule out deep vein thrombosis, which was normal. In view of plaintiff's continuing complaints, Dr. Belk referred plaintiff to Dr. David R. Kingery, an orthopedic surgeon.

6. Dr. Kingery examined plaintiff on June 5, 2000. Plaintiff described anterolateral knee pain, popping in her kneecap and significant swelling. On examination there was no evidence of effusion, but plaintiff was very tender at the lateral patellofemoral joint and over the quadriceps tendon at the kneecap. Dr. Kingery also noted that there was a lateral tilt to plaintiff's kneecap, which was probably preexisting, and that he could push her kneecap out of its track. Dr. Kingery diagnosed plaintiff with a patella contusion and patellofemoral malalignment with patella subluxation. He prescribed a knee sleeve to hold plaintiff's kneecap in proper position, prescribed Celebrex, an anti-flammatory medication, and restricted her to light-duty work.

7. Defendants provided plaintiff with light-duty work during most of the time that she was under work restrictions. Plaintiff's supervisor noticed that, despite her symptoms, she was not limping and she did not always wear her knee brace. Plaintiff told him that the brace irritated her skin.

8. When plaintiff returned to Dr. Kingery on June 29 and July 25, 2000, she reported continuing symptoms. Dr. Kingery ultimately increased her medication and adjusted her restrictions.

9. On August 22, 2000, plaintiff reported improvement and had been able to return to working most of her machines. However, plaintiff's medicine had run out and her symptoms had increased without the medication.

10. Consequently, Dr. Kingery prescribed additional Celebrex for plaintiff. He also released her to full duty work.

11. Plaintiff returned on October 3, 2000 and saw Dr. Kingery's physician's assistant. At that time plaintiff was working her regular job but she reported increased pain and swelling by the end of her work shift. On examination there was some fullness at the outside of her knee. The physician's assistant decided to continue plaintiff's medication and to order an MRI of her knee.

12. Plaintiff next saw Dr. Kingery on October 30, 2000. He reviewed her MRI, which showed a cyst on the anterior cruciate ligament and some degenerative signal in the lateral meniscus. However, there was no other evidence of injury to plaintiff's tendons, ligaments or bony structures on the film. Dr. Kingery considered the possibility that the cyst might be having a bearing on plaintiff's symptoms, but the cyst was not likely related to her injury and was probably just an incidental finding.

13. The symptoms plaintiff complained of October 30, 2000 were radicular in nature, with buttock and leg pain and a positive straight leg raising test. Consequently, Dr. Kingery diagnosed plaintiff with sciatica and recommended treatment for her back, at the point where the sciatic nerve was being irritated.

14. Plaintiff was resistant to Dr. Kingery's recommendations because she did not believe that she had a back problem. Plaintiff then went to a chiropractor, Dr. Scott Hartsell, who did not think that she had sciatica and who diagnosed her with a knee problem.

15. Defendants refused to authorize the treatment Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
Perez v. Culp, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perez-v-culp-ncworkcompcom-2004.