Case Title: State ex rel. Dolgencorp, Inc. v. Indus. Comm'n

Citation: 2011-Ohio-4606

Docket Number: 

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2011-09-15T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as 
State ex rel. Dolgencorp, Inc. v. Indus. Comm., Slip Opinion No. 2011-Ohio-4606.] 
 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in 
an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested 
to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 
65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or 
other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be 
made before the opinion is published. 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2011-OHIO-4606 
THE STATE EX REL. DOLGENCORP, INC., APPELLANT, v. INDUSTRIAL 
COMMISSION OF OHIO ET AL., APPELLEES. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 
may be cited as State ex rel. Dolgencorp, Inc. v. Indus. Comm.,  
Slip Opinion No. 2011-Ohio-4606.] 
Workers’ Compensation — R.C. 4123.57(B) — Scheduled-loss compensation — 
Loss of vision — Effect of corrective surgery — State v. Baker followed. 
(No. 2010-0124 — Submitted August 8, 2011 — Decided September 15, 2011.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Franklin County, No. 08AP-1014,  
2009-Ohio-6565. 
__________________ 
 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} Appellant Joanne R. Simpson seeks compensation pursuant to R.C. 
4123.57(B) for a total loss of left-eye vision.  Simpson splashed bleach in her left 
eye while working for appellee, Dolgencorp, Inc. (a.k.a. Dollar General).  The eye 
was copiously flushed at the emergency room, and several medications for 
inflammation were prescribed. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
 
{¶ 2} Simpson lost little vision as a result of the accident, with three 
doctors assessing her loss at 5 percent. She did, however, experience other 
complications as a result of the accident, including light sensitivity, tearing, 
excessive blinking, glare phenomena, and reduced depth perception. 
{¶ 3} In 2007, Simpson became a candidate for a corneal transplant.  After 
the procedure was performed, Simpson’s left-eye vision was 20/80 uncorrected 
and 20/60 corrected. 
{¶ 4} Simpson requested scheduled-loss compensation under R.C. 
4123.57(B), alleging that she had sustained a total loss of vision in her left eye 
due to the removal of her cornea.  A staff hearing officer for appellant, Industrial 
Commission of Ohio, agreed: 
{¶ 5} “The Staff Hearing Officer finds the injured worker sustained an 
injury to her left eye as the result of a chemical splash in her eye.  Following 
treatment, it was determined that the injured worker needed a lens [sic, ‘cornea’] 
transplant.  The [cornea] was surgically removed on 08/28/2007.  The surgical 
removal of the [cornea] resulted in a total loss of use of the left eye.  Therefore, a 
total loss of use is awarded consistent with O.R.C. 4123.57(B).” 
{¶ 6} Further appeal was refused. 
{¶ 7} Dolgencorp filed a complaint in mandamus in the Court of Appeals 
for Franklin County, alleging that the commission had abused its discretion in 
awarding compensation for a total loss of vision.  The court of appeals agreed, 
and issued a writ that ordered the commission to vacate its order and to issue a 
new one that denied compensation for total loss of vision. 
{¶ 8} Simpson and the commission now appeal to this court as of right. 
{¶ 9} Pursuant to State ex rel. Baker v. Coast to Coast Manpower, L.L.C., 
___ Ohio St.3d ___, 2011-Ohio-2721, the judgment of the court of appeals is 
affirmed. 
Judgment affirmed. 
January Term, 2011 
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LUNDBERG STRATTON, O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, and CUPP, JJ., concur. 
O’CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER and MCGEE BROWN, JJ., dissent for the 
reasons stated in the dissenting opinion in State ex rel. Baker v. Coast to Coast 
Manpower, L.L.C., ___ Ohio St.3d ___, 2011-Ohio-2721. 
__________________ 
 
Reminger Co., L.P.A., and Mick L. Proxmire, for appellee. 
 
Michael DeWine, Attorney General, and Charissa D. Payer, Assistant 
Attorney General, for appellant Industrial Commission of Ohio. 
 
Philip J. Fulton Law Office, Ross R. Fulton, and Philip J. Fulton, for 
appellant Joanne R. Simpson. 
______________________