Rippe v. Delbert Hooten Logging

266 S.W.3d 217, 100 Ark. App. 227, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 751
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 31, 2007
DocketCA 06-1277
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 266 S.W.3d 217 (Rippe v. Delbert Hooten Logging) 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
Rippe v. Delbert Hooten Logging, 266 S.W.3d 217, 100 Ark. App. 227, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 751 (Ark. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinions

Karen R. Baker, Judge.

Appellant appeals from a decision by the ALJ finding that appellant failed to prove the elements necessary to establish that he had an organic brain injury. The Commission affirmed the decision by the ALJ. Appellant has several arguments on appeal. First, he argues that the Commission’s finding that he failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence the elements necessary to establish a compensable organic brain injury was not supported by the evidence. Second, he argues that the evidence submitted by him establishes that the Executive Branch of the State of Arkansas and private interests have exerted pressure on workers’ compensation administrative law judges and Commissioners that has infringed upon their decision independence and resulted in actual bias and the appearance of bias in the decisions of the administrative law judges and Commissioners. Within his second point, appellant has two sub-points. His first sub-argument is that an administrative quasi-judicial procedure that does not provide safeguards to protect the decisional independence of hearing officers violates the separation-of-powers doctrine established by the Constitution of the State of Arkansas. His second sub-argument is that external pressure exerted by political and private interests upon the quasi-judicial administrative decision makers violates the due-process rights of the parties appearing before the agency and invalidates and renders void adjudicative procedure of the agency. We hold that the Commission properly found that appellant failed to prove the elements necessary to establish an organic brain injury, and we further hold that appellant’s constitutional arguments, as presented in this case, have no merit. Accordingly, we affirm.

On March 15, 2004, appellant was working at Hooten Logging when he sustained a scalp laceration and elbow injury. The injury occurred when a tree fell from a logging truck, striking him and knocking him to the ground. On that particular day, appellant’s boss was running a machine that “reaches out and grabs the log to put it on the truck.” When his boss gave him the signal, he was expected to use a chain saw to trim the brush off the logs. Appellant explained that he was standing in the “safe zone” when his boss gave him the expected signal, and at that point he reached over to pick up the chain saw. “The next thing I knew, I was spitting dirt out of my mouth.” Appellant did not remember that he had fallen to the ground, but he described the feeling of a severe headache and the feeling that his arm had been “ripped off [his] body.” When he attempted to get up, he fell to the ground again. His boss directed him get into the pick-up truck so that he could take appellant to the doctor. Appellant stated that it was difficult to get to the truck because “the world was spinning” and he had blood all over his body. His scalp was “split open and flipped over, like [he] had been scalped” and “felt like it was on fire.” Because the doctor’s office was closed when they arrived, his boss took him to the emergency room at Baptist Health Medical Center in Heber Springs.

Appellant testified that since the injury, he forgets where he is going and has to have help remembering any appointments. He no longer wants to be around people and has trouble when people are talking all at once around him. He has pain in his left arm, and it “hurts all the time.” He also has trouble with his vision. When he turns his head, it is like “my vision’s trying to get there.” He struggles to read because the “letters move around.” He also has trouble remembering what he just read. His ability to communicate has lessened since the injury, and he has trouble communicating his thoughts. He often forgets what he is doing and where he is going. Appellant testified that he has trouble with losing his balance. He stated that he did not have any of these issues before the injury.

He testified that he saw Dr. Blickenstaff , an orthopedic doctor, for treatment of his elbow injury. Dr. Blickenstaff released appellant in June 2004 and reported that he did not have a disability relating to his elbow injury. Appellant also saw an (unnamed) eye doctor whose report noted that appellant did not have any apparent “floaters” and that appellant did not sustain any “ocular injuries.” The eye doctor prescribed glasses for appellant, but appellant testified that “they wouldn’t get them for me.” Appellant also saw Dr. Smith, a neurologist, and the CT Scan of appellant’s head was normal.

On August 6, 2004, appellant was also seen by Dr. Vann Smith, a neuropsychologist, for evaluation of perceived cognitive difficulties. Dr. Vann noted at the beginning of his report that appellant’s injury “resulted in a Grade III concussion with attendant confusion, spatial and temporal disorientation and affective lability.” Dr. Vann ran various tests on appellant and concluded that appellant’s test data revealed a number of abnormal findings consistent with the presence of impaired brain function. Dr. Vann diagnosed appellant with Organic Brain Dysfunction, Secondary to TBI; Cognitive Dysfunction, Non-Psychotic, Secondary to OBS; and Organic Brain Dysfunction Secondary to Axis III Condition(s). Dr. Vann recommended the following: referral to neurology and physiatry for additional evaluation and neurocog-nitive rehabilitation treatment planning; outpatient cognitive retraining/rehabilitation as clinically indicated; repeat neuropsy-chological test battery in six months to establish a data baseline from which to accurately assess the velocity/severity of any remaining neurocognitive symptoms and the efficacy of treatment; and that patient contact and become involved with Traumatic Brain Injury support groups sponsored by the Arkansas Brain Injury Association in his area.

Several of appellant’s friends and former co-workers testified at the hearing. Robert Powell testified that prior to appellant’s accident, appellant had worked for him for three years. After the injury, appellant attempted to work for Powell again. However, Powell described how appellant’s personality had changed since the accident and that, unlike appellant’s personality prior to the accident, appellant had become defensive and “sharp.” Before the injury, appellant was able to “do complex things and he would help me figure things out. Now, he can’t do any of that.” “He can’t remember anything, and he cannot focus on the plans.”

Richard Lane also testified that after appellant’s injury, he had short-term memory problems and was unable to understand what he was supposed to do at any given time. He testified that since the injury, appellant was depressed and felt like he had no purpose. Appellant became easily aggravated. He described appellant as having difficulty concentrating and unable to perform much physical activity. He stated that his condition had gotten consistently worse since the injury.

Another of appellant’s co-workers, Doug Rouse, testified that appellant lived with Rouse and his family immediately following the injury, and during that time, appellant complained of problems with his arm, neck, head, back and massive body aches. He described appellant before the accident as a very hard working, very outgoing, easy to get along with, and friendly person. Since the accident, Rouse testified that appellant had suffered from memory problems and was not able to perform physical work. Appellant “is not the same person” since the accident. He was depressed and unhappy and did not do well in a crowd.

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Rippe v. Delbert Hooten Logging
266 S.W.3d 217 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
266 S.W.3d 217, 100 Ark. App. 227, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 751, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rippe-v-delbert-hooten-logging-arkctapp-2007.