Title: STRANDBERG v REBER COMPANY

State: montana

Issuer: Montana Supreme Court

Document:

No. 14223 I N THE S U P R E C 4 E CCUR!I' O F THE STATE O F MONTANA 1978 Claimant and Respondent, THE REBER COMPANY, rnloyer, and AFGOIWVT INSURANCE CaMPANY, Defendant and Appllant. Appeal from: hbrkers' Canpensation Court Hon. William E. Hunt, Judge presiding. Counsel of Record: For Appellant: Harris, Jackson & Wdo, Helena, Pbntana John Grant argued, Helena, Pbntana For Respondent: Keller, Reynolds a r d Drake, Helena, Wntana Paul T. Keller argued, Helena, Wntana Filed : Sutanitted: Novemkr 14 1978 Decided : NOV 2 7 1 9 5 8 M r . ~ u s t i c e Gene B. Daly delivered t h e Opinion of t h e Court. O n ~ u l y 2 4 , 1973, while employed a s a plumber by The ~ e b e r Company, Howard Strandberg f e l l from a ladder and fractured h i s l e f t hip. Argonaut Insurance Company, Reber Company's Plan 2 workers' compensation carrier, paid Strand- berg temporary t o t a l d i s a b i l i t y . Strandberg, 53 years o l d a t t h e t i m e of t h e accident, attempted t o r e t u r n t o work f o r Reber i n October, 1974, b u t found he w a s unable t o keep up a s a plumber, primarily because of pain and lack of mobility. After a period of two and one-half days, he had t o terminate h i s employment. Since t h a t t i m e he has t r i e d various jobs such a s truck driving, i r r i g a t i n g and fencing b u t has been unable t o f i n d work involving s i t t i n g o r standing t h a t he could do f o r any length of time without experiencing pain. I n 1977 Strandberg began t o complain of back problems. A t t h i s p o i n t he petitioned t h e Workers' Compensation Court f o r a hearing on h i s e l i g i b i l i t y f o r permanent t o t a l d i s - a b i l i t y . The c a s e was r e f e r r e d t o a hearings examiner. Strandberg was subsequently examined by two orthopedic s p e c i a l i s t s who t e s t i f i e d , t h a t because of t h e manner i n which h i s h i p had healed, Strandberg had developed a Tren- delenburg's g a i t , described a s a " l i s t i n g g a i t over t h e hip," h i s l e f t l e g had shortened measurably, and he walked with a limp. These a f t e r e f f e c t s of t h e fractured h i p had i n t u r n aggravated a preexisting condition i n Strandberg's spine known a s spondylolisthesis, i n which one vertebra is not developed, r e s u l t i n g i n an i n a b i l i t y f o r Strandberg t o be on h i s f e e t o r do heavy work f o r any length of t i m e . While spondylolisthesis i s a chronic condition which may become symptomatic with age, both examining physicians t e s t i f i e d they f e l t Strandberg's limp, as a r e s u l t of h i s f r a c t u r e d h i p , accelerated and aggravated t h e p r e e x i s t i n g condition. O n t h e b a s i s of t h i s undisputed testimony t h e hearings examiner made f i n d i n g s of f a c t and conclusions of law favor- a b l e t o Strandberg. The Workers' Compensation Court adopted t h e s e f i n d i n g s and conclusions and denied Argonaut's p e t i t - i o n f o r a rehearing. From t h e judgment and d e n i a l of t h e p e t i t i o n f o r a rehearing, Argonaut appeals. The i s s u e w e a r e asked t o decide is whether a person i n j u r e d i n a n i n d u s t r i a l accident is e n t i t l e d t o compensa- t i o n when an i n j u r y t o one p a r t of h i s body r e s u l t s i n t h e aggravation of a p r e e x i s t i n g condition i n another p a r t of t h e body. W e hold t h a t he i s and a f f i r m t h e Workers' Com- pensation Court. W e have long recognized t h e d o c t r i n e i n Montana t h a t an employee s u f f e r i n g from a p r e e x i s t i n g condition is n o t denied compensation i f t h e d i s a b i l i t y was aggravated o r a c c e l e r a t e d by an i n d u s t r i a l i n j u r y . Clark v. Hilde Con- s t r u c t i o n Co. (1978), Mont. - , 576 P.2d 1112, 1 1 1 4 , 35 St.Rep. 353, 355; Bond v. S t . Regis Paper Co. (1977), Mont. , 571 P.2d 372, 374, 34 St.Rep. 1237, 1240; Rumsey v. Cardinal Petroleum (1975), 166 Mont. 17, 28, 530 P.2d 433, 439. The r u l e i s t h a t when p r e e x i s t i n g d i s e a s e s a r e aggravated by an i n j u r y and d i s a b i l i t i e s r e s u l t , such d i s a b i l i t i e s a r e t o be t r e a t e d and considered a s t h e r e s u l t of t h e i n j u r y . Gaffney v. I n d u s t r i a l Accident Board (1955), 129 Mont. 394, 403, 287 P.2d 256, 260. Appellant would now have us l i m i t t h i s d o c t r i n e t o cases where t h e p r e e x i s t i n g condition a f f e c t e d only t h a t p a r t of t h e body subsequently i n j u r e d i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l accident. This we d e c l i n e t o do. Such a holding would f o r c e u s i n t o a narrow and t e c h n i c a l construction of t h e Workers' Compensation s t a t u t e s and thus d e f e a t t h e l i b e r a l and humane i n t e n t i o n of t h e l e g i s l a t u r e i n providing f o r t h e b e n e f i t and p r o t e c t i o n of t h e i n j u r e d worker. Garland v. Anaconda Co. (1978), Mont. , 581 P.2d 431, 433, 35 St-Rep. 923, 926; Rumsey v. Cardinal Petroleum, supra, 166 Mont. a t 26, 530 P.2d a t 438; Levo v. General-Shea-Morrison (1955), 128 Mont. 570, 571, 280 P.2d 1086, 1087. Neither do previous cases suggest such a l i m i t e d doc- t r i n e . W e allowed recovery i n Gaffney where a f a l l aggra- vated p r e e x i s t i n g Parkinson's d i s e a s e and c e r e b r a l a r t e r i a l s c l e r o s i s both of which, l i k e Strandberg's s p o n d y l o l i s t h e s i s , are progressive d i s e a s e s of a degenerative nature. I n Weakley v. Cook (1952), 126 Mont. 332, 249 P.2d 926, a p r e e x i s t i n g h e a r t condition was aggravated when t h e claimant f e l l backwards. I n Moffett v. Bozeman Canning Co. (1933), 95 Mont. 347, 26 P.2d 973, a n unexpected back s t r a i n t r i g - gered p r e e x i s t i n g Parkinson's d i s e a s e of t h e nervous system. I n both c a s e s compensation was allowed. See a l s o t h e r e c e n t case of Close v. S t . Regis Paper Co. (19771, Mont. , 573 P.2d 163, 34 St.Rep. 1528, where a blow t o t h e c l a i m a n t ' s head aggravated a dormant condition i n her neck. This i s analogous t o t h e i n j u r y t o Strandberg's h i p aggravating a dormant condition i n h i s lower back. W e have a l s o held t h a t where an i n d u s t r i a l accident causes p r e e x i s t i n g psychological problems t o f l a r e up t h e claimant is e n t i t l e d t o compensation. Schumacher v. Empire S t e e l Mfg. Co. (19771, - Mont. - , 574 P.2d 987, 988, 34 St.Rep. 1 1 1 2 , 1 1 1 4 . Clearly i n these cases t h e r e is no connection between t h e s i t e of t h e subsequent i n j u r y and t h e p r e e x i s t i n g condition and no suggestion t h a t t h e r e must be such a physical r e l a t i o n s h i p . A l l t h a t i s necessary i s t h a t t h e a c c i d e n t aggravate o r a c c e l e r a t e t h e p r e e x i s t i n g d i s e a s e o r d i s a b i l i t y . Under such circumstances t h e claimant must "produce s u f f i c i e n t evidence, d i r e c t , i n d i r e c t o r c i r c u m s t a n t i a l t o cause i n t h e unprejudiced mind a conviction t h a t such w a s t h e f a c t . " Gaffney, 129 Mont. a t 404-05, 287 P.2d a t 261. Proof t h a t it was medically p o s s i b l e f o r an i n d u s t r i a l accident t o aggravate a p r e e x i s t i n g condition i s acceptable proof of d i s a b i l i t y . V i e t s v. Sweet Grass County (1978), Mont . , 583 P.2d 1070, 1072, 35 St.Rep. 1364, 1366-67. Here, - Strandberg m e t t h i s burden of proof a s shown i n p a r t by t h i s excerpt from t h e deposition of one of t h e examining physi- c i a n s , D r . Harris Hanson: "Q. And how about h i s s p o n d y l o l i s t h e s i s i n h i s back. Was it a f f e c t e d by t h i s i n j u r y ? A. O n t h e b a s i s of what I found on t h e X-rays, I t h i n k t h i s was a p r e e x i s t i n g problem, b u t with h i s shortening and h i s limp, t h e s p o n d y l o l i s t h e s i s and t h e degenerative changes about h i s back probably have been a f f e c t e d by it y e t . "Q. They have been aggravated, would you say? A . Y e s . " The deposition of D r . Robert Seim, t h e examining doctor f o r Argonaut, is t o t h e same e f f e c t . Likewise, undisputed evidence e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t Strandberg was unable t o r e t u r n t o h i s former occupation o r t o perform any job f o r more than a couple of hours a t any t i m e . O n questions of f a c t , contained i n t h e record, our function i n reviewing d e c i s i o n s of t h e Workers' Compensation Court is l i m i t e d t o a s c e r t a i n i n g whether s u b s t a n t i a l evidence e x i s t s t o support t h e f i n d i n g s and conclusions of t h a t c o u r t . I f t h e r e is s u b s t a n t i a l evidence t o support t h e court's findings, we cannot overturn the decision. Jensen v. Zook Bros. Construction Co. (1978), Mont. , 582 P.2d 1191, 1193, 35 St.Rep. 1066, 1068. On the record before us we find the requisite substantial evidence to support the finding of the Workers' Compensation Court that Strandberg's industrial accident to his hip aggravated his preexisting spinal condition resulting in permanent total disability. Section 92-713, R.C.M. 1947, authorizes the reopening and proper adjustment of a workers' compensation case "[ilf aggravation . . . takes place or [is] discovered after . . . compensation [is] terminated in any case." This language indicates that the legislature recognized the possibility that aggravation of an injury may occur after the normal period of compensation has expired, as occurred here. The Workerst Compensation Court acted correctly under the au- thorization of this statute. The judgment of the Workerst Compensation Court is affirmed. We Concur: ?LLd Chief Justice Gk!&4yJLP