Sonnie Gail Phillips Wood v. Porter Cable Corporation,

This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers'Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) (2) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Defendant/Appellant Van De Kamp's, Inc., and Defendant/Appellee Porter Cable Corporation, appeal the judgment of the Chancery Court of Madison County awarding Plaintiff/ Appellee, Sonnie Gail (Phillips) Wood, thirty percent (3%) permanent partial disability to the right arm and twenty percent (2%) to the left arm. Van De Kamp's, Inc. raises three additional appellate issues: (1) Whether the trial court erred in finding that the "Last Injurious Exposure Rule" applied to the facts in this case; (2) Whether the trial court erred in granting Porter Cable Corporation a directed verdict at the close of Plaintiff's proof; and (3) Whether Porter Cable Corporation's inaction when given notice of Plaintiff's injury estops them from denying liability. Defendant Porter Cable raises three additional appellate questions: (1) Whether the trial court erred in applying the "Last Injurious Exposure Rule"; (2) Whether it was harmless error for the trial court to grant Porter Cable Corporation a directed verdict; and (3) Whether equity was achieved when Plaintiff's injury worsened at Van De Kamp's. From our review of the record, we affirm the trial court's judgment as modified. Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e) (1999) Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court is Affirmed as Modified. L. TERRY LAFFERTY, SR. J., in which JANICE M. HOLDER, J., and JOE C. LOSER, SP. J., joined. Jeffrey P. Boyd, Jackson, Tennessee, for Defendant/Appellant, Van De Kamp's; and Michael V. Tichenor, Memphis, Tennessee, for Defendant/Appellee, Porter Cable Corporation. Art D. Wells, Jackson, Tennessee, for the Plaintiff/Appellee, Sonnie Gail Phillips Wood. MEMORANDUM OPINION Sonnie Gail Phillips Wood, age 32, a self-employed residential cleaner, testified that at the time of her employment with Porter Cable Corporation ("Porter Cable"), her name was Sonnie Phillips, but she is now married. Plaintiff did not complete the eighth grade, with no further educational attempts. Plaintiff began working for Porter Cable in August 1996 as an assembler and pain commenced in her hands in August 1997. Plaintiff worked both the router line and belt sand line, which required the continuous and repetitive use of her hands with a power screwdriver. When her hands began to "swell like a balloon," she notified Walter Longmire, a shift manager, about her condition. Longmire suggested that she "suck it up." Plaintiff's pain continued and radiated into her shoulders. She told the plant nurse, Connie Leaper, who suggested that it might be tendinitis and that she should take Ibuprofen and use splints. On her own, Plaintiff saw Dr. Timothy Hayden, who suggested that her problems could be from her work. Dr. Hayden referred her to Dr. Keith Nord. Dr. Nord recommended that she wear braces at night and at work, but they did not help. In April 1998, Dr. Nord advised her that she had carpal tunnel syndrome and recommended that she take off work at Porter Cable. In September 1998, Plaintiff decided to leave employment at Porter Cable due to certain problems, her hands were painful and that if she continued to work, her hands might become permanently damaged. Between September and November of 1998, Plaintiff worked for International Paper Company for a very short time. She began working for Van De Kamp's Inc. ("Van De Kamp's") in early November 1998. Plaintiff began working the pancake and waffle line, in which the pancakes and waffles came down a line bunched up, so she had to pick them up and stack them four at a time and put them in bins for packing. Plaintiff worked a twelve-hour shift. On the very first day, Plaintiff felt intense pain but did not tell anybody for about a month because she was new on the job. In December 1998, Plaintiff reported her injury to her employer and was provided a panel of three physicians. Since Dr. Nord was on the list, she returned to see Dr. Nord and he placed her on light duty, but Van De Kamp's did not honor her restrictions and put her back on the waffle line. Since her hands became worse and she could not do the job, she left Van De Kamp's in December 1998. Plaintiff worked at various jobs until she started her own residential cleaning service. As to her daily routine, Plaintiff testified that she has some problems with vacuuming, and house cleaning. She has difficulty in brushing her seven year old daughter's hair and cannot lift her weights since her wrists are weak. Plaintiff conceded that she did not have surgery for her wrist and/or hand problems. Mr. Jason Wood, Plaintiff's husband of one and one-half years, testified that he met Plaintiff while they worked at International Paper in October 1998. He stated that his wife cannot lift a cast iron skillet or heavy pots, and in the mornings he must help her daughter get ready for school. Plaintiff cannot do weeding in the garden or twist off tops of jars and bottles. Mr. Wood did not know Plaintiff when she worked at Porter Cable and is not familiar with her problems at that plant. He stated that when they dated in October 1998, she had no problems with her hands and he never helped her to open jars. -2-