Vandiford v. Stewart Equipment Co.

391 S.E.2d 193, 98 N.C. App. 458, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 420, 1990 WL 65320
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedMay 15, 1990
Docket8910IC930
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 391 S.E.2d 193 (Vandiford v. Stewart Equipment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vandiford v. Stewart Equipment Co., 391 S.E.2d 193, 98 N.C. App. 458, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 420, 1990 WL 65320 (N.C. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinions

LEWIS, Judge.

The issue before this Court is whether plaintiff’s injury and disability from his October 1984 accident arose out of or was in the course of his employment. For these injuries to be compensable, they must result from an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment. Barham v. Food World, Inc., 300 N.C. 329, 332, 266 S.E.2d 676, 678 reh’ing denied, 300 N.C. 562, 270 S.E.2d 105 (1980). A subsequent injury to an employee, whether an aggravation of the original injury or a new and distinct injury, is compensable only if it is the direct and natural result of a prior compensable injury. Starr v. Charlotte Paper Co., 8 N.C. App. 604, 610, 175 S.E.2d 342, 347 (1970). The plaintiff must therefore [462]*462establish a causal relationship between the February 1984 back injury and the October 1984 injury.

Our inquiry is limited solely to whether there was competent evidence before the Commission to support its findings of fact. Henry v. A.C. Lawrence Leather Co., 231 N.C. 477, 479, 57 S.E.2d 760, 762 (1950). Moreover, if the evidence before the Commission is capable of supporting two contrary findings, the determination of the Commissioner is conclusive on appeal. Dolbow v. Holland Industries., Inc., 64 N.C. App. 695, 697, 308 S.E.2d 335, 336 (1983), cert. denied, 310 N.C. 308, 312 S.E.2d 651 (1984). The duty of this Court in reviewing the validity of the award on appeal is to ascertain whether there is any competent evidence in the record to support such a finding. Id. at 696, 308 S.E.2d 336.

Defendant argues that because plaintiff’s doctor testified that plaintiff was treated for back pain in 1980 and again in 1982, his thrombophlebitic condition was not necessarily a natural and direct result of the February 1984 accident. Dr. Overby, plaintiffs treating physician for the thrombophlebitis, testified that in his opinion this condition was related to the plaintiff being at bed rest following his back injury of October 1984. Defendant asserts that because plaintiff suffered from some back problems which were treated in 1980 and 1982, his October 1984 injury could have stemmed from the 1980 and 1982 back problems and therefore the throm-bophlebitis does not arise out of his employment. We disagree.

There is a distinction between the proximate cause doctrine in workers’ compensation cases and that applied in cases of tort. Starr v. Charlotte Paper Co., Inc., supra at 610, 175 S.E.2d 347. While there must be some causal connection between the employment and the injury, it is not necessary that the original injury be the sole cause of the second injury. Id.

The hazards of employment do not have to set in motion the sole causative force of an injury in order to make it compen-sable. By the weight of authority it is held that where a workman by reason of constitutional infirmities is predisposed to sustain injuries while engaged in labor, nevertheless the leniency and humanity of the law permit him to recover compensation if the physical aspects of the employment contribute in some reasonable degree to bring about or intensify the condition which renders him susceptible to such accident and consequent injury.

[463]*463Id. (quoting, Vause v. Equipment Co., 233 N.C. 88, 63 S.E.2d 173 (1951)). Dr. Pelletier’s medical notes regarding the October 1984 injuries indicated that plaintiff had “aggravated his pre-existing back condition.” In Mayo v. City of Washington, the Court affirmed the award of the Commission based upon evidence of the treating physician’s notes which indicated that plaintiff had been injured on the job and “was reinjured today.” The Mayo court held that “[t]his was sufficient medical evidence to establish a causal connection between the [first compensable] . . . accident and the subsequent injuries.” Mayo v. City of Washington, 51 N.C. App. 402, 407, 276 S.E.2d 747, 750 (1981). According to Dr. Pelletier’s deposition testimony, all of the workers’ compensation forms filed by his office, including those filed after the October 1984 incident, indicate the date of injury as February 1984.

The evidence supports the Commission’s findings that as a result of the February 1984 accident, plaintiff suffered additional injuries in October 1984 and we affirm those findings.

Defendants also argue that because the plaintiff was injured in 1984, he is not entitled to recover permanent disability compensation. Both plaintiff’s back and leg injuries are “scheduled injuries.” G.S. § 97-31. Prior to 1986 the Supreme Court had interpreted the Workers’ Compensation Act to limit recovery to an employee only to those benefits enumerated in G.S. § 97-31, if all the injuries were “scheduled injuries.” Plaintiff, under this interpretation of the law, would not be allowed to recover total permanent disability benefits. However, in Whitley v. Columbia Lumber Mfg. Co., 318 N.C. 89, 348 S.E.2d 336 (1986), our Supreme Court interpreted the Workers’ Compensation Act to allow total permanent disability benefits to an employee who only sustained “scheduled injuries.” Plaintiff’s workers’ compensation hearing was held in 1988. Clearly, the Whitley decision controls this case. See also Niple v. Seawell Realty and Ins. Co., 88 N.C. App. 136, 362 S.E.2d 572, disc. rev. denied, 321 N.C. 744, 365 S.E.2d 903 (1988); Harrington v. Pait Logging Co., 86 N.C. App. 77, 356 S.E.2d 365 (1987).

Defendants further assert that the Industrial Commission erred in finding that the employee was entitled to permanent and total disability benefits. Defendants argue that the plaintiff is able to earn some wages, though less than what he was receiving at the time of his injury, and therefore is not totally disabled. G.S. § 97-29. Defendants primarily rely upon the testimony of Dr. Paul [464]*464Alston, a vocational rehabilitation expert, who testified that plaintiff could perform certain types of jobs on a part-time basis, three to four hours per day. However, we find ample support in the record to uphold the Commission’s findings.

Dr. Pelletier testified that because of plaintiffs present physical condition, he is unable to sit or stand for a period of more than fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. The plaintiff cannot lift or bend, and he must frequently lie down and rest because of the pain in his back and legs. Furthermore, Dr. Alston conceded on cross-examination that he assumed that the plaintiff would be able to go three to four hours at a time on a regularly scheduled basis without needing to lie down and rest. This testimony is contrary to the testimony of Dr. Pelletier.

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Vandiford v. Stewart Equipment Co.
391 S.E.2d 193 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
391 S.E.2d 193, 98 N.C. App. 458, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 420, 1990 WL 65320, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vandiford-v-stewart-equipment-co-ncctapp-1990.