 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Matter of Andren5/28/1996
Appellee Melvin Andren (the employee) sought review in the district court of the hearing examiner's order which denied his request for worker's compensation benefits. The district court reversed the hearing examiner's order, finding that the employee was entitled to receive benefits. Appellant Celotex Corporation (the employer) appeals from the district court's order which reversed the hearing examiner's decision.
We reverse.
ISSUES
The employer presents the following issues for our review:
1. The District Court applied an incorrect standard or rule and improperly reweighed the evidence presented at the contested [case] hearing.
2. The Hearing [Examiner's] determination that [the employee] had engaged in unsanitary or injurious practices contrary to W.S. ยง 27-14-407 and thus was not entitled to benefits was supported by substantial evidence.
FACTS
It is undisputed that the little finger on the employee's left hand was crushed on March 31, 1994, while the employee was at work. He was taken to the emergency room where he was given pain killing medications and a tetanus shot. Later that day, an orthopaedic surgeon determined that immediate surgery was required.
During the surgery, the surgeon placed two surgical pins in the employee's finger to stabilize the joint. Tube gauze and an extension splint were placed over the finger after surgery to protect it. No complications were noted as a result of the surgery. The following day, the employee returned to the hospital to have his surgical dressing changed. He complained that he did not have any circulation in his finger due to the pressure of the postoperative dressing, so the dressing was changed. The next day, the employee redressed his wound himself, trying to ease the continuing pain. He also applied a topical coating of honey to his injury.
On April 4, 1994, the employee returned to work even though he had not yet been released by his surgeon to do so. The employee bought a supply of clean gloves and trimmed the protruding ends of the surgical pins by about an eighth of an inch to make it easier for him to get his gloves on and off.
On April 7 and April 12, 1994, the employee visited the surgeon's office. At both visits, his wound was "benign," but the surgeon did note that the employee had been using honey on his injury. The surgeon instructed the employee to wear his splint and not put honey on the wound.
On April 24, 1994, the employee was not wearing his splint when his wife accidentally hit his finger. The employee's finger became progressively painful and swollen. Three or four days later, in an attempt to relieve the pain, the employee pulled both pins out of his finger with a pair of pliers. Despite having pain and swelling, the employee did not seek immediate medical treatment. When the employee did see a doctor approximately nine days after his finger had been struck, he had to have surgery because of extensive infection and the damage done to his finger. The finger had swollen to nearly four times its normal size, and it was a "purplish red" color. At the employee's insistence, the surgeon amputated the employee's finger during that surgery.
The employee applied for and received benefits under the provisions of the Wyoming Worker's Compensation Act. The employer subsequently objected to any benefits being paid to the employee after May 3, 1994, claiming that the employee had engaged in unsanitary or injurious practices which imperiled his recovery. After holding a contested case hearing, the hearing examiner concluded that the employee was not entitled to receive benefits
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Wyoming Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|