MWCC NO. 98-14033-G-4112 & 98-14511-G-4113
| MARION DANNY ROBERTSON
vs. CONTRACTORS EQUIPMENT COMPANY
|
CLAIMANT
EMPLOYER
CARRIER
|
APPEARING FOR CLAIMANT:
Honorable Greg E. Beard, Attorney at Law, Booneville,
Mississippi
APPEARING FOR DEFENDANTS:
Honorable George E. Read, Attorney at Law, Oxford,
Mississippi
The Commission heard the above styled cause on April 23, 2001 in the offices of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission in Jackson, Mississippi on "Employer/Carrier's Petition for Review" and "Claimant's Response to Employer/Carrier's Petition for Review."
Having heard the arguments offered on behalf of the parties and having thoroughly studied the record and the applicable law, the Commission affirms the "Order of Administrative Judge" dated December 1, 2000.
Claimant's oral "Motion to Admit Additional Evidence" is denied.
SO ORDERED, this the 7th day of May, 2001.
MISSISSIPPI WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
BY: BEN BARRETT SMITH
BARNEY SCHOBY
COMMISSIONERS
ATTEST:
Jo Ann McDonald, Secretary
___________________________
Commissioner Quarles, dissenting.
I dissent. The claimant bears the burden to establish
his entitlement to any for It is well established that a claimant is competent
to prove his own claim, and his testimony may be accepted without corroboration.
Alexander Smith, Inc.
v. Genette,
232 Miss. 166, 98 So. 2d 455 (1957). However, if
the claimant's testimony contains inherent improbabilities or contradictions,
the Commission is not bound to accept the claimant's testimony as the basis
of the award. Barnes v. Buckeye
Molding Co., 247 Miss. 614, 157 So. 2d
63 (1963). Moreover, the Commission sits as the "ultimate finder of facts"
in compensation cases, not the Administrative Judge. Thus it is incumbent
upon the Commission to review the record with diligence.
After a careful review of the record, I conclude
that it does not support all of the findings of the Administrative Judge.1
For this In support of this conclusion, I offer the following:
Upon consideration of the record as a whole, I
can but conclude that the claimant has not met his general burden of proof
by showing that an accidental injury arose out of and in the course of
his employment on either May 7 or May 11, 1998. Serious flaws in the claimant's
proof include the facts that (1) the claimant at no time and to
no physician designated that his pain was the result of a work-related
event, whether on May 7 or 11; and (2) the claimant, by his own testimony
and corroborated by Mr. Grubbs and exhibit CL-7, never relayed to Mr. Grubbs
that he had sustained an on-the-job injury on the 11th, although he spoke
to Mr. Grubbs on that date reporting pain, took leave from work due to
"illness" and, according to Mr. Grubbs, talked to him on a daily basis
to report that he could not return to work due to pain he was experiencing;
but never once told Mr. Grubbs that this disabling pain had a work-related
origin. The claimant's testimony that he sustained
an accidental injury while working on either May 7th or May 11th is not
only uncorroborated by any witness, but is undermined by the claimant's
own reports to physicians.
It does not go unnoticed that the Administrative
Judge indicated that the claimant is inarticulate, but this does not relieve
the claimant of simply telling a physician, a day or week after his injury:
"I was hurt at work" or checking a leave form block to indicate "accident
on job" rather than "due to illness."3 Moreover,
it strains the credulity to conclude from the medical records, as Administrative
Judge Thompson did, that the "stor[ies] [claimant] told Dr. Dennis in May
1998 and Dr. Assaf in June 1998 [seem] consistent with his history of various
accidents." (Opinion, p. 17)
For the reasons stated above, it is difficult
to believe the testimony of the claimant as to the occurrence of any work-related
injury in May of 1998 and thus I would deny the compensability of that
injury.
This the 7th day of May, 2001.
LYDIA QUARLES
MWCC NOS. 98-14511-G-4113-B and 98-14033-G-4112-B
vs.
CONTRACTORS EQUIPMENT COMPANY
APPEARING FOR CLAIMANT:
APPEARING FOR DEFENDANTS:
On October 29, 1998, the claimant, Marion Danny
Robertson, filed two petitions to controvert alleging that in October 1997
and again on May 7, 1998, he received work-related injuries to his back,
shoulder, and neck. The employer and carrier denied the compensability
of the injuries and did not pay workers' compensation benefits. Mr. Robertson
was unable to undergo recommended diagnostic testing because he could not
obtain payment therefor from either the workers' compensation carrier or
the employer's group health insurer. A hearing was held in the Lee County
Justice Center in Tupelo, Mississippi, on October 19, 2000.
The parties stipulated that in October 1997 and
on May 7, 1998, the claimant's average weekly wage was $493.07.
The issues to be resolved by the Administrative
Judge are as follows:
1. Whether the claimant, Marion Danny Robertson,
suffered a work-related injury to his back, shoulder, and neck in October
1997.
2. Whether Marion Danny Robertson, suffered a
work-related injury to his back, shoulder, and neck on May 7, 1998.
3. If he suffered an injury or injuries, whether
he gave appropriate notice to the employer.
4. Whether the employer and carrier are responsible
for medical services and supplies related to his back, neck and/or shoulder
complaints.
Marion Danny Robertson is forty-seven years old
and a resident of Rienzi, Mississippi. He was born in Kentucky and lived
in Illinois until he was about sixteen years old. He took special education
classes from the fourth grade to the eleventh grade in Chicago. He testified
that he can read a little, but he has some problems transposing letters
and numbers. He said his wife took care of all of his business for twenty-four
years before her death in 1994, and now his girlfriend helps him with paper
work. Mr. Robertson is not an articulate man.
Mr. Robertson lives with his girlfriend, Rhonda
Berryman. He met her in mid 1995, and they were living together in 1997
and 1998. Mr. Robertson's sixteen-year-old son and his girlfriend's young
granddaughter live with them.
In the past, Mr. Robertson has worked as a carpenter,
welder, house painter, and highrigger welder. He has a valid commercial
driver's license. He last took a physical exam three years ago. He is a
certified welder. He took and passed a test but has not had formal schooling
in welding.
At Contractors Equipment Company in Tupelo, Mr.
Robertson was service manager. He was with the company for about ten years,
first at their Corinth, Mississippi, office and later, from August 1997
until May 11, 1998, at their Tupelo branch. He took care of mechanic work,
service calls, truck driving, or whatever else needed to be done. He would
go out on service calls to do maintenance work on rented equipment when
repairs were needed.
Mr. Robertson admitted he had back pain before
October or November 1997. He had treatment for a "muscle pull" in his back
about three or four years earlier. He said he never had chest pain before
October 1997 and had not sought medical treatment for chest pain. Mr. Robertson
is diabetic, and he takes pills for this condition when he can afford it.
He has high cho The next morning he came in and told Mr. Bill
Grubbs, the manager of the Tupelo office of Contractors Equipment Company,
that he was hurting. Mr. Robertson testified that Phillip Holley, the office
manager, started to fill out an accident report but got busy and gave him
the accident report to finish filling out. His girlfriend filled it out
for him, and the next morning Mr. Robertson laid it on the desk. Mr. Robertson
said Mr. Grubbs called him into the office and signed the accident report
and told Mr. Robertson to go back to work and not get hurt any more.
Mr. Robertson said he missed two or three days
of work, but he took back a doctor's excuse saying he could return to work.
He missed a half day or so sometime later. Mr. Robertson would com Mr. Holley, the office manager, was still working
at Contractors Equipment Company, although he had given his two weeks notice.
Mr. Robertson told Mr. Holley about hurting his chest and raised his shirt
up to show him.
Later that day, Mr. Robertson used a high pressure
hose to clean up a backhoe. The hose got hooked up under the front wheel,
and Mr. Robertson jerked on the hose. He felt pain in his back and he went
down on his hands and knees. The pain brought tears to his eyes. Mr. Robertson
testified that he told Mr. Grubbs and Mr. Holley that he had hurt his back.
Mr. Grubbs sent him home. Mr. Robertson went home in the company service
truck that he used to go to and from work as well as to make service calls.
The next day, Friday, May 8, 1998, he did not
go to work. He did not work the weekend but went back in on Monday, May
11, 1998. Mr. Grubbs asked him to work on a scissor lift machine, which
involved removing a hydraulic cylinder weighing 350 or 400 po Mr. Robertson explained that he hurt his back
and the left side of his neck. He felt like someone was sticking him in
the back all the time. If he turned his neck to the left, he would feel
like he was going to black out. He had numbness in his leg and foot.
The next day, May 12, 1998, Mr. Robertson went
to see Marian Kelly, the nurse practitioner in Dr. Dennis's office. Some
of his reported symptoms made Dr. Dennis think he was having a heart attack,
and Dr. Dennis referred him to a heart specialist, Dr. Kerry Morgan in
Memphis, for testing. Mr. Robertson had the testing.
Mr. Robertson went back to Dr. Dennis who referred
him to Dr. Mohammad Assaf, a neurologist, who scheduled him for a cervical
MRI. Mr. Robertson apparently reported to the hospital in Booneville for
the test in June 1998 and was too big for the MRI machine. He was then
scheduled for an MRI in Memphis, where there was a larger machine. The
company would not verify the test, however, and the group health insurance
would not accept the claim either. Mr. Robertson did not have the money
to pay for the test.
According to Mr. Robertson, he has not worked
since May 11, 1998. He said he tries to do some things around the house,
but mainly he just sits or lies around.
When asked about a former girlfriend who called
Contractors Equipment Company to say he hurt his back working on a race
car at a drag race and that he had mental problems, Mr. Robertson replied
that he did not hurt his back on a race car. He did own a race car but
he does not now. He said he does not have any mental problems.
When asked if he received disability benefits
from a policy at Contractors Equipment Company, Mr. Robertson said, "No,"
that he personally had a disability insurance policy to pay a finance company
note. He completed paperwork so the finance company could get disability
benefits, but he himself has received no disability payments.
Mr. Robertson said he did not quit Contractors
Equipment Company. About three weeks after May 11, 1998, he heard from
Mr. Grubbs that he wanted him to turn in his service truck and uniforms.
He also heard from the group health insurance that he could pay for his
group insurance premiums but the company would no longer pay the premiums.
Rhonda Berryman, the claimant's girlfriend, came
to the hearing to offer testimony in the claimant's behalf. The parties
stipulated, however, that she would offer testimony that would be cumulative
and corroborative of that already given by the claimant.
Bill Grubbs testified that he is a salesman for
Contractors Equipment Company at its Tupelo office. The main office of
the company is in Memphis, Tennessee. Mike Dixon is currently the manager
of the Tupelo office. Mr. Grubbs was the manager in 1997 and 1998, and
Mr. Robertson worked for Mr. Grubbs.
According to Mr. Grubbs, Marion Danny Robertson
had worked for Contractors Equipment Company from the time the Tupelo office
opened, around the first week of August 1997, until May 11, 1998. Mr. Robertson
had previously been with the Corinth office, working for the company a
total of about ten years in two stints. Mr. Robertson was a mechanic working
on all types of equipment, from small backhoes to excavators, that is,
a variety of medium and heavy equipment. He often used very large tools
and large parts. He sometimes worked on weekends on a voluntary basis.
About a week before May 7, 1998, Mr. Grubbs told
Mr. Robertson that the company could not put up with his coming in late
and leaving early. Mr. Robertson always had an excuse but the excuse was
never that he had suffered a work injury. Mr. Grubbs thought about half
of these absences were unexcused. Mr. Grubbs was told to keep submitting
absence reports after Mr. Robertson stopped coming to work. He does not
recall Mr. Robertson reporting a work injury at any time.
Mr. Grubbs testified that in October 1997 Mr.
Robertson did not report he had been injured or had hurt his back. He did
not know of Mr. Robertson taking off work in October 1997 for an injury
although Mr. Robertson missed some time off work in 1997 and 1998.
According to Mr. Grubbs, on May 11, 1998, he heard
Mr. Robertson come in the back door of the office. Then Mr. Grubbs noticed
him with his head on his desk. Mr. Grubbs thought he was sleeping. Mr.
Robertson said he had a headache and had some chest pains. Mr. Grubbs asked
him if he needed to go to the doctor, and he answered, "No." About forty-five
minutes later, Mr. Grubbs checked on Mr. Robertson to find he was still
at his desk with his head on his desk. He had been at work about two hours.
Mr. Grubbs told him to either go home or to the doctor, that he could not
work.
That was the last day Mr. Robertson worked for
Contractors Equipment Company. He said Mr. Robertson did not tell him he
was quitting. Mr. Grubbs called him every day for about two weeks after
May 11, 1998, to see if he was coming back to work.
Mr. Grubbs testified that after Mr. Robertson
quit his job, the week of May 11, 1998, he reported he had an injury. He
did not report a back injury on May 7, 1998. Mr. Grubbs learned about the
claim of a job-related injury from the Memphis headquarters about three
weeks after May 11, 1998. Investigation of the claim was turned over to
the Memphis office.
Mr. Grubbs said he was told that one of Mr. Robertson's
girlfriends saw him at a drag race and said he had been injured working
on a race car in October 1997. Mr. Robertson continued to work until May
11, 1998, working an average of four and a half days a week.
Darrel Loader testified that he is currently product
support manager at JCB, Inc. He was product support manager and general
service manager at Contractors Equipment Company until June 19, 2000. He
was with Contractors Equipment Company in 1997 and 1998. At Contractors
Equipment Company, Mr. Loader handled about seven or eight workers' compensation
claims. When asked if he was ever called by a doctor's office to verify
workers' compensation for Marion Danny Robertson, Mr. Loader said, "Yes."
He said he was called by doctors sometime in May 1998, and he informed
the doctors that the claim had been denied.
Mr. Loader said he learned that Danny Robertson
was claiming an on-the-job injury when Mr. Robertson called him sometime
between May 15 and 18, 1998, asking what the company was going to do about
his problem. Mr. Robertson said he had been injured working on a machine
the previous Monday.
Mr. Loader said he did not have first-hand knowledge
about anything at that time, and he investigated the facts. Mr. Loader
admitted that he was new at workers' compensation matters, and he had other
job duties as well that took him out of the office at that time. He talked
to Mr. Grubbs who was branch manager at the time. Mr. Loader said that
if Mr. Robertson had an injury, he should have reported it to Mr. Grubbs
who was his direct supervisor.
Mr. Loader testified that Contractors Equipment
Company provided group health insurance for its employees. Mr. Robertson's
group health insurance should have been continued for ninety days after
May 11, 1998. Insurance premiums were paid by the company on a quarterly
basis.
The Commission file in this case includes a B-3
form filed at the Commission on October 20, 1998. The form states the preparer
was Darrel Loader, Service Manager, and that the form was prepared
on June 16, 1998. The date of reported injury or
illness was stated to be May 11, 1998, and the type of reported injury
or illness was said to be chest pain or spasms that occurred while the
claimant was pulling a lift cylinder out of a machine.
The medical records of Dr. Laurence L. Dennis,
family practitioner in Booneville, were received into evidence. Dr. Dennis's
first record is dated December 1, 1997, when he saw Danny Robertson for
a DOT physical examination. Dr. Dennis said the examination was essentially
unremarkable except for glucose and protein in the urine. Dr. Dennis noted
Mr. Robertson was diabetic and had hyperlipidemia. Mr. Robertson complained
of a lesion on his left hand from an injury three weeks earlier. Dr. Dennis
diagnosed:
2. Markedly elevated lipids.
3. Non-insulin dependent diabetes. Strongly encouraged
to get blood check and stay on his medication and follow diet. Counseled
him regarding the increased risk for coronary artery disease.
4. Non-healing lesion, left hand. Dr. Dennis next saw Mr. Robertson approximately
six months later on May 12, 1998, for complaints of:
He fell last year at work.
He had been doing some increased activity of late. Also he has some
back pain in the low to mid back.
He had some shortness of breath with this and
some diaphoresis.SUP>4 He got better and then worse
after lifting again. It hurt to move a certain way.
Today, his chest is slightly sore, but better. 2. Elevated lipids: Needs recheck.
3. Non-insulin dependent diabetes: Blood sugars
at home 120's up to 160's. Will check Hemoglobin AIC.
4. Dyspnea5: Increased.
Likely musculoskeletal.
5. Back pain: Skelaxin and Naprelan, Lorcet Plus.
(Exhibit 3, p. 6). On May 21, 1998, Dr. Morgan noted that Mr. Robertson
had the RNA stress test. He opined "there is a small defect in the circumflex
territory. The pain, however, is not consistent with coronary disease and
therefore based on this I think it is unlikely that he has any significant
disease." (Exhibit 2, p. 2). Dr. Morgan thought the chest pain was related
to musculoskeletal and back pain. He suggested Mr. Robertson return to
see him in six months, but on May 21, 1998, Dr. Dennis noted Mr. Robertson's
back pain was better.
On June 2, 1998, Dr. Dennis noted Mr. Robertson's
RNA scan was negative. He reported Mr. Robertson "was told the back of
his heart was 'twisted.'" He had less musculoskeletal pain with fatigue.
Dr. Dennis diagnosed:
2. Elevated lipids: continue medication. Will
need to increase Zocor. Recheck in 4 weeks.
3. Diabetes: Forgot diary. He says all less than
150, up to 214 on one occasion. Need checks.
4. Back pain: Musculoskeletal, as above. Increase
Naprelan to bid. See Dr. Assaf.
5. Dyspnea: Component of anxiety.
6. Anxiety: Add Buspar, may be causing diaphoresis. The medical records from the Baptist Memorial
Hospital in Booneville, Mississippi, were received into evidence. Mr. Robertson
presented to the hospital on June 4, 1998, and Dr. Mohammad Assaf was the
attending physician. Mr. Robertson reported to the hospital that at noon
on November 1, 1997, he had an injury described as "took cylinder out lift"
and complained of back and neck pain. (Exhibit 5, p. 2).
The medical records of Dr. Mohammad Assaf, neurologist
with the Neurology Outreach Clinics in Booneville and Ripley, Mississippi,
were admitted into evidence. Dr. Assaf s notes indicate he saw Marion Danny
Robertson on June 4, 1998, at the referral of Dr. Dennis for complaints
of back pain when he "fell at work in Nov. also hit self in chest at work
with pipe x 6 wks ago. Also c/o chest hurting off & on worse on exertion."
He also wrote, "Nov. 97 & 6 wks ago at work - hit chest work in heavy
equipment. Pain in back, shoulder, neck, lower back... weakness all over."
(Exhibit 4, p. 6). He also complained of dizziness and being tired. There
are other notations that are illegible.
Dr. Assaf diagnosed cervical radiculopathy and
muscle spasm. He recommended an MRI of the cervical spine. A marginal note
indicates that Mr. Robertson was too large for the MRI machine at the hospital
in Booneville, and he was scheduled for an MRI in Memphis. On June 4, 1998,
Dr. Assaf signed a slip saying the patient needed to be off work until
after he could review the MRI results.
Mr. Robertson went to Dr. Dennis's office again
on June 22, 1998, asking for something for pain. The nurse practitioner's
note states, "he hurt his back at work (fell)." (Exhibit 3, p. 2).
Dr. Assaf saw Mr. Robertson again on July 2, 1998,
for continued complaints of pain that was worse when he turned his head
and dizziness. Dr. Assaf diagnosed trapezius muscle spasm and cervical
radiculopathy.
On August 26, 1998, Dr. Dennis noted Mr. Robertson
came to the office complaining of pain in his left chest, left low back,
and left shoulder. Dr. Dennis reported:
On October 8, 1998, Dr. Assaf wrote Dr. Dennis,
stating:
On November 23, 1998, Dr. Dennis saw Mr. Robertson
and noted he was anxious and depressed. Mr. Robertson said he could not
bend over to put his shoes on because of neck pain. Dr. Dennis said about
his neck and chest pain:
On January 7, 1999, Dr. Assaf again recommended
the MRI of the cervical spine. He noted Mr. Robertson was still having
pain in his neck, worse on exertion, and was having problems sleeping.
On August 18, 1999, Dr. Dennis admitted Mr. Robertson
to the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Booneville for complaints of left anterior
chest pain, nausea, and dizziness. Dr. Dennis thought the chest pain was
more chest wall related. He noted the diabetes was out of control. He also
suspected gallbladder disease.
After carefully considering the pleadings, pretrial
statements, stipulation about average weekly wage, lay and medical evidence,
the demeanor of the witnesses at the hearing, and the applicable law, the
Administrative Judge finds as follows:
1. The claimant, Marion Danny Robertson, did not
receive a significant work injury in October or November 1997 as alleged
in one petition to controvert and at the hearing. He may very well have
had an accident as he described while repairing a piece of equipment in
Alabama some Sunday before Thanksgiving, but the evidence as a whole indicates
he did not require medical treatment or time off work. He had a DOT physical
examination by Dr. Dennis on December 1, 1997, and he did not mention anything
to Dr. Dennis about the accident in Alabama he described at the hearing
or report symptoms that would have been consistent with his history of
the accident.
2. Mr. Robertson sustained a work-related injury
on or about May 7, 1998, when he accidentally jammed a pipe into his chest
and then had pain when he jerked on the hose and experienced back pain.
He exacerbated the problems or developed new ones on May 11, 1998, when
he had difficulty with a cylinder that fell out of the machine faster than
he expected. The employer and carrier are responsible for providing him
workers' compensation benefits, including necessary medical services and
supplies.
Mr. Robertson is not an articulate man, and it
was difficult to understand exactly what happened to him during the various
incidents he described. But it is clear that he regularly performed strenuous
physical activity at work and had musculoskeletal chest wall pain and back
pain following the May 1998 accidents which required medical treatment.
The story he told Dr. Dennis in May 1998 and Dr. Assaf in June 1998 seems
consistent with his history of the various accidents.
Unfortunately, the medical evidence is sketchy
at best, but then this happens when there is no one to pay for medical
services and supplies. The employer denied the workers' compensation claim,
and apparently the group health insurer refused to pay for anything because
Mr. Robertson was claiming his problems to be job-related. The medical
evidence is also complicated because of Mr. Robertson's non-job-related,
preexisting physical problems, particularly diabetes.
Mr. Robertson saw Dr. Dennis on May 12, 1998,
and he complained of both chest pain and back pain after "Increased activity
of late." Dr. Dennis referred him to Dr. Morgan, a heart specialist in
Memphis, to check out the chest pain and then to Dr. Assaf, a neurologist,
for the back complaints. Dr. Morgan found no significant heart trouble
and thought the chest pain musculoskeletal and related to back pain. Then
when Dr: Assaf suspected cervical radiculopathy and sent Mr. Robertson
for an MRI of the cervical spine, apparently not only the employer's workers'
compensation carrier but the employer's group health insurance carrier
refused to provide the testing, in spite of the fact that Mr. Robertson
was a ten-year employee of the company.
3. The employer had notice that Mr. Robertson
was claiming a work-related injury within a week after May 11, 1998. Mr.
Grubbs and Mr. Loader said they knew within two or three weeks after that
date that Mr. Robertson had communicated a claim to the main office of
the employer in Memphis, and the company filed a report of injury completed
by Mr. Loader on June 16, 1998. The employer and carrier have not been
prejudiced by any delay beyond what company policy might have dictated
as the appropriate time to report an injury.
4. The average weekly wage of the claimant in
October 1997 and on May 7, 1998, was $493.07, as stipulated by the parties.
5. There is not enough supporting medical evidence
to make a determination about the duration of temporary total disability
at this time, and this issue needs to be addressed after Mr. Robertson
has proper medical evaluation.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the employer
and carrier pay workers' compensation benefits to the claimant as follows:
Provide medical services and supplies as required
by the nature of the claimant's injury and the process of his recovery
therefrom pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated §71-3-15
(1995), General Rule 12, and the Medical Fee Schedule.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that
any issues relating to temporary total or other disability be reserved
for a subsequent hearing.
SO ORDERED, this
the 26th day of October, 2000.
LINDA A. THOMPSON
ATTEST: 1. It goes without saying that,
under the set of facts found by the administrative judge, she has applied
the law appropriately. I simply differ with regard to the facts.
2. I agree with Administrative
Judge Thompson's conclusions relative to the October 1997 claim.
3. The claimant's testimony, both on direct examination
and cross-examination, whether in the hearing or evolving from his deposition,
reflects not inarticulateness but inconsistency. Moreover, there is little
evidence of confusion that would form an explanation for the claimant's
inconsistent testimony.
4. "Diaphoresis" is defined as
"perspiration, especially profuse perspiration" in the On-line Medical
Dictionary.
5. "Dysponea" is defined as "shortness of breath, difficult
or laboured breathing" in the On-line Medical Dictionary.
COMMISSIONER
___________________________
MARION DANNY ROBERTSON
AND
FEDERATED MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
Honorable Greg E. Beard, Attorney at Law, Booneville,
Mississippi
Honorable George E. Read, Attorney at Law, Oxford,
Mississippi
<
1. DOT physical exam
(Exhibit 3, p. 7). Dr. Dennis advised him to return
in ten days or sooner if there were a problem.
Sudden onset of chest pain last week.
(Exhibit 3, p. 6). Dr. Dennis diagnosed:
1. Chest pain: EKG unremarkable. Likely musculoskeletal
and due to diabetes. Will check GXT, PRN sublingual nitroglycerin.
The medical records of Dr. Kerry D. Morgan, heart
specialist in Memphis, were received into evidence. Dr. Morgan saw Marion
Danny Robertson on May 14 and 21, 1998. On May 14, 1998, Dr. Morgan noted
that Mr. Robertson complained of chest pain and chest pressure that occurred
mainly with activity. Dr. Morgan noted he had extremely high cholesterol
as well as triglycerides and diabetes. Dr. Morgan diagnosed "Atypical chest
pain with significant risk factors." (Exhibit 2, p. 9). Dr. Morgan recommended
an RNA stress test.
1. Chest pain, likely musculoskeletal. Started
after he fell at work about 6-7 months and has continued and worsened after
continued working and he reinjured it 5/12/98.
(Exhibit 3, p. 4).
The patient was hurt while working on 5/12/98.
He had initially been hurt at work in October of 1997. He did improve from
that standpoint, and apparently his work did not see fit to turn it in
to Workman's Compensation, nor sent him in to have it evaluated at that
time. The patient had recurrent pain to this same area while working on
5/12/98. He has continued to have pain, as well as spasms. He has been
seen by Dr. Assaf, who wants to run an MRI. I have given the patient nonsteroidals,
which have helped some, but he is having some GI intolerances. I have also
given him several Toradol injections which helped only temporarily. The
Skelaxin (muscle relaxant) also helps some.
(Exhibit 3, p. 3). Dr. Dennis noted Dr. Morgan thought
the chest pain was musculoskeletal. Dr. Dennis recommended physical therapy
for back and neck pain.
I would like to thank you for allowing me to
see this nice patient who is a 45-year-old white male patient who fell
at work in November of 1997 and also he fell six weeks ago where he works
with heavy equipment. The patient has had back pain and right shoulder
and neck pain with back pain mainly in the lower back, associated with
numbness of the right arm and left leg with weakness all over. He feels
like his legs and hand give up easily. He denies any trouble walking, but
the patient has dizzy spells in the form of lightheadedness. Also the patient
has chest pain on and off and mainly worse on exertion.
(Exhibit 3, p. 8). Dr. Assaf suggested Mr. Robertson
had left trapezius muscle spasm and should be tested to rule out cervical
radiculopathy. He ordered an MRI of the cervical spine, but the workers'
compensation carrier refused to pay for it.
Continue current meds. In the process of a disability
claim, for such, and it does not appear patient will be able to return
to active work, as before, any time soon.
(Exhibit 3, p. 14). On December 28, 1998, Dr. Dennis
advised Mr. Robertson to follow up with Dr Assaf as his neck pain and chest
pain were no better.
ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
<Jo Ann McDonald, Secretary
___________________________