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DeLong v. Hampton Envelope Co.11/9/2004
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Mooney, P.J., Crahan and Hoff, J.J., concur.
Opinion:
Hampton Envelope Company (Employer) appeals the final award of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (Commission), which adopted, in part, and modified, in part, the award of worker's compensation benefits to Cindy DeLong (Claimant) by the administrative law judge (ALJ). We affirm the award of the Commission and grant Claimant's motion for frivolous appeal and sanctions pursuant to Rule 84.19.
Facts
On April 17, 2001, Claimant was working for Employer when she sustained a work-related injury. While operating a punch press, Claimant suffered a traumatic amputation of her left-middle finger at the distal joint. Claimant's boss took Claimant to the hospital, where Dr. Harold E. Dunn (Dunn), a hand specialist, performed replantation surgery to reattach the finger. The procedure, however, was unsuccessful. On May 4, 2001, Dunn performed revision amputation surgery to remove the injured part of the finger. Claimant filed a claim for compensation with the Division of Workers' Compensation (Division) on April 27, 2001, ten days after her injury.Claimant did not return to work for Employer and did not work at all for approximately three-and-one-half months following her injury and subsequent surgeries. Employer paid Claimant temporary total disability benefits during the months she did not work.
Claimant remained under Dunn's care for approximately one year. During the course of treatment, Dunn referred Claimant to a physical rehabilitation facility for therapy on her affected hand. In April 2002, Dunn prescribed a custom-made prosthetic finger for Claimant. Employer and its insurance company, however, denied Claimant had any medical need for the prosthesis and refused to provide it. In June 2002, Claimant filed a motion for a hardship hearing in which she requested the Division to grant a temporary award directing Employer to pay for the prescribed prosthesis, but Employer maintained its refusal. In November 2002, Claimant filed a motion for uncontroverted benefit in which she requested the Division to compel Employer to pay for the prescribed prosthesis, but Employer continued to refuse to provide it.
In August 2003, at the hearing before the ALJ, the parties stipulated that Employer would pay Claimant disability benefits of $200 per week for 28.6 weeks and would pay any and all medical bills related to the treatment of Claimant's injury. The parties agreed that the only issues to be resolved by the ALJ were whether Employer would be required to provide Claimant with a middle-finger prosthesis and related care and maintenance for the rest of Claimant's life and whether Employer would be responsible for Claimant's attorney's fees and expenses. As evidence of her need for the prosthesis, Claimant offered her own testimony regarding her injury and subsequent treatment, the medical records of Dunn, the deposition of Dr. Bruce Schlafly (Schlafly), and exhibits concerning attorney's fees and expenses.
Claimant testified that she suffers from severe pain in the stump of the amputated finger during cold weather. She also testified that she has difficulty doing everyday activities, including sewing, tying her shoes, and turning pages in books and magazines. Claimant believes the prosthesis would give her "leverage, something to work with." Claimant further testified that she thinks about her amputation every day, and she typically wears a Band-Aid to cover the residual stump because she "feel like people are either looking at or talking about [the amputated finger] . . . ." Claimant is self-conscious about whether a prospective employer
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