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Boutte v. Langston Companies2/4/1998
EMILY BOUTTE, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, v. LANGSTON COMPANIES, INC., DEFENDANT-APPELLEE.
Rehearing Denied March 17, 1998.
APPEAL FROM OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION ADMINISTRATION, PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, NO. 96-180, STATE OF LOUISIANA, HONORABLE SHERAL C. KELLAR, WORKERS' COMPENSATION JUDGE
Emily Boutte appeals a judgment of the Office of Workers' Compensation (OWCA) denying her claim for disability benefits, medical expenses, penalties, and attorney fees. For the following reasons, we affirm.
Facts
Boutte was employed as a seamstress, or "strap attacher," for Langston Companies (Langston), at its plant in Crowley, Louisiana. She injured her neck and back on November 20, 1995 when she slipped, struck her head on a metal post, and fell to the concrete floor while walking to her work station. At the time of her injury, Boutte was forty-seven years old and had been employed with Langston for eleven months.
Langston and its workers' compensation insurer, Travelers Insurance Company (Travelers), referred her first to Dr. Mark Dawson, a family practitioner, then to Dr. Clifton Shepherd, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Shepherd released Boutte to light duty employment in December of 1995. In January of 1996, Boutte returned to work on light duty status, but she quit after three days, claiming that pain prevented her from working.
Boutte then began treatment with Dr. Michel Heard, also an orthopedic surgeon. After ordering several diagnostic studies, Dr. Heard considered Boutte to be totally disabled and recommended further testing with Dr. James Domingue, a neurologist. Travelers refused to authorize the referral to Dr. Domingue and did not pay Boutte compensation benefits, contending that she presented insufficient evidence of disability.
On January 10, 1996, Boutte filed this disputed claim for compensation against Langston and Travelers. After trial on August 17, 1997, the workers' compensation Judge found that Boutte failed to prove a disability entitling her to either temporary total disability benefits or supplemental earnings benefits. The workers' compensation Judge also rejected Boutte's claims for (1) penalties and attorney fees under La.R.S. 23:1201(F) and 23:1201.2 and (2) damages and attorney fees under La.R.S. 23:1127 for Travelers' alleged release of her medical records to a self-employed vocational rehabilitation counselor. On appeal, Boutte argues six assignments of error.
Disability Benefits and Medical Expenses
(Assignments of Error Nos. 2, 3, and 4)
Boutte urges that we find manifest error in the workers' compensation Judge's finding that she is not disabled and in the failure to order defendants to pay for the recommended testing with Dr. Domingue. She also contends that the record does not support the finding that "Dr. Shepherd found no objective reason why claimant could not return to work." These assignments are interrelated because they require a Discussion of the same medical evidence and lay testimony.
Langston's plant manager, Glenn Johnson, referred Boutte to Dr. Dawson on the day of the accident. Dr. Dawson prescribed muscle relaxers and pain medication and ordered cervical X-rays, which revealed a congenital cervical fusion at C3-4. He also prescribed three weeks of physical therapy during which time Boutte was not to work. When Boutte did not improve, Travelers referred her to Dr. Shepherd.
At his initial examination on December 11, 1995, Dr. Shepherd noted apparent tenderness in the left posterior cervical muscles, the left trapezius muscle, and the mid-thoracic region. Otherwise, he observed full range of motion with no
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