Smith v. North Dakota Workers Compensation Bureau3/21/2000
Appeal from the District Court of Bowman County, Southwest Judicial District, the Honorable Ronald L. Hilden, Judge.
AFFIRMED.
[ ] Raymond Smith appeals from the trial court's judgment affirming the North Dakota Workers Compensation Bureau's dismissal of his claim. We also affirm.
I.
[ ] Smith worked as a motor hand on an oil rig owned and operated by Nabors Drilling USA, Inc. ("Nabors"). On January 8, 1998, while working on the rig, Smith suffered severe frostbite to his hands, which required amputation of portions of eight of his fingers. Smith filed an injury claim with the Bureau on January 10, 1998, when he first sought medical treatment for the frostbite. That same day, Smith underwent a drug test which showed a positive result for amphetamine, methamphetamine, and opiates.
[ ] When questioned by a Bureau investigator, Smith explained, due to the pain caused by the frostbite, he had taken every medication in his medicine cabinet, including a Vicks inhaler and Tylenol with Codeine. Smith also revealed he had taken a capsule given to him by a friend on January 7, 1998. Initially, Smith said he did not know what the capsule was, but later admitted it was methamphetamine, saying " t was in a capsule, but I'm sure, I understood it was methamphetamine, ok? It was in a capsule, easier way to pack it or something, I don't know." Smith's medical records indicated he was a suspected professional patient with drug seeking behavior.
[ ] The Bureau dismissed Smith's claim. The Bureau found Smith's test showed levels of amphetamine and methamphetamine above the concentration levels set by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in 49 C.F.R. § 40, which created a rebuttable presumption the injury was due to impairment caused by the illegal use of a controlled substance under N.D.C.C. § 65- 01-11. The Bureau concluded Smith failed to rebut the presumption and that, under N.D.C.C. § 65-01-02, an injury caused by the illegal use of controlled substances is not a compensable injury.
[ ] Smith requested a hearing, denying drugs caused his injury and further denying he ever admitted using methamphetamine the day before his injury. A hearing was held on September 14, 1998. At the hearing, the Bureau abandoned its reliance upon the presumption created by the presence of illegal substances in Smith's body on January 10, 1998, because the test was too remote from the injury in time. Rather, the Bureau claimed the injury was non-compensable under N.D.C.C. § 65-01- 02(11)(b)(3), because it was caused by the illegal use of controlled substances.
[ ] At the hearing, Smith admitted he had taken a capsule on January 7, 1998, but believed it was an over the counter "caffeine-type pill . . . like the truck drivers use." Accounting for his test results, Smith stated that the day after his injury he took Disoxin, a methamphetamine, which a physician had prescribed for him a decade before; however, he denied having methamphetamine in his system on January 8, 1998. Smith testified he had eaten the cotton from a Vicks inhaler because it was an old family remedy for a cold and also said he had taken Tylenol with Codeine, which had been prescribed by a dentist six months before his injury. On cross-examination, Smith recanted his admission he had taken methamphetamine on January 7, 1998, stating " ell, it's kind of hard to look inside a capsule to see what you're taking. It was not my opinion that's what it was entirely, no." Smith said his testimony changed because he thought back and became unsure about what he had taken.
[ ] Terry Boyd, a drilling supervisor with Nabors, testified about rig operations. He stated he had never kn
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