Robertson v. Stratagraph, Inc.

458 So. 2d 619, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 9842
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 7, 1984
DocketNo. 83-967
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 458 So. 2d 619 (Robertson v. Stratagraph, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robertson v. Stratagraph, Inc., 458 So. 2d 619, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 9842 (La. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

CUTRER, Judge.

This is an appeal in a workmen’s compensation suit from a trial court judgment awarding the plaintiff benefits on the basis of his partial disability. The plaintiff, Roy Douglas Robertson, brought suit to recover workmen’s compensation resulting from an injury to his buttocks incurred when a coworker, as a prank, placed epoxy resin glue on his workbench while he was employed as an electronics technician for Strata-graph, Inc.

This suit was filed against Stratagraph, Inc. and against its workmen’s compensation carrier, Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company (Hartford).

The plaintiff sued for total permanent disability payments, penalties and attorney’s fees. The trial court awarded the plaintiff forty-eight weeks of partial disability benefits subject to certain credits. Penalties and attorney’s fees were denied. We affirm.

The defendants appeal contending that the trial court erred in finding that the plaintiff was partially disabled or, 'in the alternative, finding that the plaintiff was partially disabled for the entire forty-eight week period. The plaintiff answers seeking attorney’s fees.

FACTS

The plaintiff was employed by the defendant as an electronics technician. This job required him to sit for a majority of the time repairing electronic devices.

On June 8,1982, the plaintiff was injured when he sat on some epoxy resin glue which had been placed on his workbench by a fellow employee as a practical joke. The epoxy glue burned through the seat of his pants, causing burns to his buttocks. On that night, he went to Lourdes Hospital emergency room for treatment of his buttocks. They advised him to see a doctor.

In his reasons for judgment the trial judge set forth the facts as follow:

“At the trial, plaintiff testified that he saw Dr. Terry Cromwell the week after the injury. Dr. Cromwell prescribed medication and had plaintiff stay home, remain quiet, and remain off his buttocks. Plaintiff stated that he remained home for three weeks and was paid his full salary by Stratagraph for this time. He returned to work after that time and worked for one to two weeks, even though he had pain while sitting or standing. He testified that he then took his vacation at the end of July, 1982. When he returned from his vacation, he worked for three days and then was laid off on August 13, 1982.
[621]*621“Plaintiff testified that during this entire time, his buttocks had not healed and were irritated. It was hard to sit due to the irritation, but he returned to work even though the doctor had not discharged him because he had a family to support and obligations to meet. Plaintiff stated that he did his work as best as he could, but it was difficult due to the irritation which impaired his concentration. During this tirñe period he only saw Dr. Cromwell twice, on June 17 and 29, and did not return because he did not like showing the affected areas to doctors.
“Plaintiff stated that he searched for work and accepted a $50.00 retainer from a concern known as Logmasters in September, 1982. Plaintiff then went to work for Logmasters in December, 1982, for a period of one month. Plaintiff further testified that his buttocks area had not healed at that time; in fact, he was in the same amount of pain in December, 1982, as he had been in June, 1982. Plaintiff also stated that Logmasters did not pay him for the one month’s work and he had not been paid to date.
“Plaintiff then testified that he worked for an insurance agency making appointments over the telephone. This involved constant sitting, and after three days, the pain became unbearable, so he returned to Dr. Cromwell on March 24, 1983. He stated that he had not worked since that time.
“Plaintiff stated that at that time the pain had localized near the anal area. He could not sit for more than ten minutes without pain and could not concentrate to work or read. The area was irritating, too painful to itch, and the only comfortable position was laying down without clothing.
“Plaintiff further testified that the area had never fully healed since June 8, 1982. The condition had subsided, but had returned by March 24,1983. At that time, Dr. Cromwell referred plaintiff to a Dr. Richard, who failed to cure the condition. Dr. Cromwell then referred plaintiff to Dr. Daniel Dupree, a dermatologist, who changed the treatment and medication. Plaintiff stated that three weeks later he no longer experienced discomfort and he thought he could return to work without pain. Further, at the time of the trial, he had no pain or discomfort whatsoever. In addition, all of plaintiffs medical bills had- been paid at the time of the trial.
“On the trial of the merits, the depositions of Doctors Dupree and Cromwell, taken for trial purposes, were introduced into the record. Doctor Cromwell stated that, after the initial injury, he saw plaintiff on June 17 and June 29, 1982. On the former date, plaintiff was in pain, but by the latter date the condition had improved remarkably, and plaintiff could return to work the next week. Because plaintiff did not return to see Doctor Cromwell by September 29, the doctor discharged plaintiff on that date, retroactive to June 29, 1982.
“When Doctor Cromwell next saw plaintiff on March 24, 1983, his condition had localized further down toward the anal area, and appeared to have existed at least a few weeks before that date. The area was a moist surface, as if it had multiple blisters that had ruptured or opened. The area was weeping, or drain-*' ing, all the way down to the anus, and plaintiff complained of a burning sensation. At that time plaintiff could not perform a job that would require him to sit down. Plaintiff was referred to Doctor Richard for further treatment.
“Doctor Cromwell next saw plaintiff on April 21, 1983, after plaintiff had seen Doctor Richard. The area had not improved much, and still had a peri-anal rash that was irritated by sitting. Doctor Cromwell stated that plaintiff at that time could probably carry out jobs that involved intermittant sitting, that is, sitting for an hour and walking for an hour. Doctor Cromwell referred plaintiff to Doctor Daniel Dupree, a dermatologist.
“Doctor Cromwell last saw plaintiff on July 19, 1983, after Doctor Dupree had treated the plaintiff. At that time plain[622]*622tiff still complained of irritation in the buttocks area after long periods of sitting, but the skin looked good and there were no objective findings to substantiate plaintiff's complaint of irritation.
“Dr. Dupree’s deposition indicates that he saw plaintiff on April 28 and May 5, 1983. Dr. Dupree stated that plaintiff had a condition known as lichen simplex ehronicus, whereby the skin thickens and skin markings are accentuated due to repeated scratching and rubbing. The doctor explained that the condition involved an itch/scratch cycle in that the area itches so the patient scratches it, which further thickens and lichenifies the skin, causing increased itching, which encourages scratching. Dr. Dupree stated that the condition was causally related to the epoxy prank as a secondary manifestation or secondary outcome. Sitting down or sweating could cause the area to be irritated, but the condition would not disable plaintiff from engaging in everyday activities.

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Bluebook (online)
458 So. 2d 619, 1984 La. App. LEXIS 9842, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robertson-v-stratagraph-inc-lactapp-1984.