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Moore v. First National Bank of Omaha12/17/2002
(Not Designated for Permanent Publication)
I. INTRODUCTION
Sharon K. Moore appeals from a decision of the Workers' Compensation Court review panel affirming the trial court's decision to grant the motion of the First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) for summary judgment. Moore contends the court erred in finding that FNBO had no control over the area where Moore fell and was injured. Moore also contends the court erred in finding that her injury did not arise out of and in the course of her employment with FNBO. For the reasons stated herein, we reverse, and remand for further proceedings.
II. BACKGROUND
On January 6, 1999, Moore arrived at work at 8 a.m. At 8:15 a.m., Moore went outside the building to "plug the meter" so she would not receive a parking ticket. Moore was actually "plugging the meter" for a co-worker because Moore was going to borrow the co-worker's car later in the day. When Moore stepped outside the building, about "three or four feet from the door," she slipped and fell. A security guard helped Moore stand up, and Moore then filled out an accident report with the security guard.
Moore subsequently went back to her office and contacted Karen Markey, her supervisor. Markey called FNBO's workers' compensation safety manager, whom Markey and Moore informed that Moore had fallen just outside the building. Moore left the office at 9:45 a.m. to go to a dental appointment. Before leaving for her appointment, Moore told Markey that she was going to stop at "University Emergency to have them check out" to see whether she was hurt. Moore returned to work at about 12:45 p.m.
After working for approximately 20 minutes, Moore began experiencing chest pain. The pain was bad enough that Moore had a co-worker call an ambulance. Moore was in the hospital for 4 days. Moore was told not to return to work until her doctors could follow up on her condition. Moore had a follow-up appointment roughly 2 weeks later, and the doctor she visited decided to run some tests on her. The results of the tests revealed that Moore had a bulging spinal disk. Moore underwent surgery in April 1999. She was not released to return to work until February 14, 2000.
On July 26, 2000, Moore filed a petition for benefits in the Workers' Compensation Court. On January 22, 2001, FNBO filed a motion for summary judgment. This motion was subsequently withdrawn on February 5. FNBO filed another motion for summary judgment on February 7. FNBO submitted affidavits and depositions in support of its motion, and Moore also submitted evidence. We will discuss the evidence submitted by the parties in the analysis section below.
On February 28, 2001, the trial court granted FNBO's motion for summary judgment. The court found that since FNBO did not have "control of the area" where Moore slipped, Moore was not entitled to benefits. The court also found that Moore was "running a personal errand during an unscheduled break period." The court ordered the matter dismissed. On March 6, Moore appealed to the Workers' Compensation Court review panel. The review panel affirmed the trial court's decision on January 24. Moore timely appealed to this court.
III. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
Moore assigns three errors on appeal, which we consolidate for discussion to two. First, Moore contends the review panel erred in affirming the finding of the trial court that FNBO had no control over the area where she slipped and fell. Second, Moore contends the review panel erred in affirming the finding of the trial court that Moore's injury did not arise out of and in the course of her employment with FNBO.
IV. ANALYSIS
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