Opinion ID: 1721028
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: employee's testimony

Text: Bernard George testified that on March 18, 1958, he was climbing an electric pole to disconnect some wires when the hooks of his climbers slipped out of the pole, causing him to fall to the ground 15 to 20 feet below, where he landed on his back and broke his wrist. He was taken to the Cairns Clinic at Redwood Falls, Minnesota, where he was treated for the injury to his wrist. The employee was not suffering any pain in his back on March 18 and did not complain of difficulty in the back area then. He was laid up at his home near Princeton, Minnesota, for about 2 weeks following this accident. During this period of time, he reported to Dr. Norman Metcalf of Princeton, Minnesota, for a follow-up examination. Although the employee noted severe pain in his back at about the belt line and radiating into his left leg, beginning about March 19, 1958, which became more acute as time passed, he returned to work for Slattery Construction the balance of that year. In 1959 he worked on a farm near St. Cloud, Minnesota. His back difficulty kept getting worse. In 1960 he was employed in Wyoming as a ranch hand and construction worker, his back being particularly troublesome while he was doing the construction work. In 1961 he was employed in Minneapolis as a truckdriver, his back symptoms continuing with varying intensity. Except for some visits to a chiropractor (Dr. Hall, Princeton, Minnesota), he received no treatment for his back during the 1959-1962 interval and made no complaints to Slattery Construction or anyone else. In 1962 and 1963 he served as a private in the United States Army, but he was given limited duty because of his back. Even so, he was hospitalized and treated for back trouble at Fort Carson, Colorado, and at Fort Hood, Texas. Following his discharge from the service, he worked briefly for Gopher Dry Well in Minneapolis as a carpenter and then began his employment for Builders Inc. continuing until he was injured on April 25, 1964. On that date he wrenched his back severely during the course of his work and, from that time on, the pain which he had experienced for the first time on March 19, 1958, became intense. A course of treatment followed at the Princeton Community Hospital and at the University Hospitals in Minneapolis. In November 1964, surgery was performed on his back.