 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Freight Sales Furniture Co. v. Baldridge9/13/2000
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
AFFIRMED
Appellee, William Baldridge, suffered an admittedly compensable injury to his sciatic nerve on November 1, 1988, after falling from a ladder. This appeal arises as a result of a hearing held on March 2, 1999, to determine the extent of appellee's permanent disability. The administrative law judge found, among other things, that appellee was entitled to wage-loss disability in the amount of sixty percent. The Commission affirmed that finding. Appellants appeal from that portion of the Commission's decision relating to wage-loss disability, arguing that it is not supported by substantial evidence. We affirm.
Appellee, who was fifty-eight years old at the time of the hearing, has a BA degree in education. Prior to his compensable injury, appellee worked as a coach and teacher; as a salesman selling insurance, investments, and furniture; and was involved in an entrepreneurial venture involving development of a coal mine. On November 1, 1988, appellee sustained a compensable injury to his sciatic nerve when an overhead box fell and knocked him off a ladder. He fell four feet to a concrete floor. Appellee has been treated by numerous physicians including Dr. C.E. Ransom, a family practitioner; Dr. Ronald Williams, a neurosurgeon; Dr. Ronald Fewell, a specialist in family practice; and Dr. David Kline, a neurologist who is generally recognized as the world's leading authority on peripheral nerve injuries. Appellee also underwent an independent medical examination performed by Dr. Barry Baskin, a physiatrist.
At the hearing on his claim, appellee testified that several months after the accident, his leg began to atrophy. He was eventually sent to Dr. Kline, who confirmed Dr. Williams's diagnosis of sciatic nerve damage. Appellee said that his leg continued to atrophy until he had a big leg and a little leg. He began to limp and was told that his condition would only get worse. He took a job selling furniture for Dillard's because appellant Freight Sales fired him after his accident. He continued to work at Dillard's until his limp became noticeable; it hurt to sit, stand, or walk; and he was no longer able to keep up with the other salesman. Appellee then obtained a job selling insurance to school teachers, but could not continue in that job because he was unable to drive for long hours and then sit and wait in the teacher's lounge. Appellee finally went to work for a neighbor who is a farmer, but he was only able to work an hour or two in the morning before he would have to go home and rest. Later, he might come back for another hour in the afternoon. He was laid off through the winter, and when he returned in the spring he was told they hired someone else. Appellee has not worked since. Appellee last taught school in 1968, and has not had a securities license for ten or fifteen years.
With regard to his current physical condition, appellee testified that his left foot is numb, he hurts constantly, and he gets spasms in his left leg. Some nights he has bad muscle cramps and spasms. He has had numerous falls because his leg gives way, and he is unable to do the jobs he has done previously because he cannot sit or stand for very long. Usually he cannot get around for a day or so every week. He is unable to play golf, hunt, or ride horses, but is able to sweep the living room floor and wash dishes. He is able to get firewood and cut it over a period of days, and he might throw a few pieces in the truck, but he doesn't do any splitting except with a power splitter on a tractor. Appellee killed a deer, but it was behind his house about fifty yards away, and he walked out with his crossbow and shot it. In 1996 his leg got so b
Page 1 2 3 4 Arkansas Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|