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Shuler v. Gregory Electric11/7/2005
Heard September 13, 2005
AFFIRMED
Gregory Electric appeals from an order of the circuit court affirming the single commissioner and full commission's award of workers' compensation benefits to the survivors of Linda Shuler, who died on her return home from a doctor's office where she received treatment for a previous compensable injury. We affirm.
FACTS
Shuler worked as an electrician's helper for Gregory Electric (Employer). In August of 2001, Shuler injured her right hand while holding a ladder for a co-worker. It is undisputed that Shuler's hand injury was work-related, and as a result of the injury, Shuler received treatment from an employer-authorized physical therapist and doctor in Columbia, South Carolina. On November 15, 2001, Shuler left her home in Orangeburg, South Carolina at approximately 2:20 p.m. to receive physical therapy on her hand. Although she did not have an appointment, she was able to see the physical therapist and doctor that afternoon, and left the doctor's office at 6:30 p.m.
While exiting off of I-77 South onto I-26 East, Shuler drove into the guardrail on the right side of the exit ramp, overcorrected, and crashed headfirst into the guardrail on the left side of the exit ramp. Some time after the accident occurred, Albert Chatfield, III, was driving on the exit ramp and had to swerve into the right lane in order to avoid Shuler's car, the trunk of which was protruding into the road. Chatfield testified that he was "not very sure" of what time it was when he discovered Shuler's car, but guessed it was somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. Because Shuler's windows were very tinted and her doors were locked, Chatfield did not realize anyone was in the vehicle, but he called 911 because Shuler's vehicle posed a hazard for other motorists.
Trooper Brian E. Kyzer from the South Carolina Highway Patrol responded to Chatfield's call and arrived at the scene at 8:27 p.m. When Trooper Kyzer arrived, he shined a flashlight into Shuler's car and saw that she was inside, slumped toward the passenger's seat. He called an ambulance, but Shuler's injuries were fatal.
The parties dispute Shuler's activities between the time she left the doctor's office and the time Shuler's car was found. Trooper Kyzer testified that he found bags from a grocery store and a dollar store in Shuler's backseat and that Shuler's daughter had told him Shuler planned to go shopping after her visit to the doctor. Based on his investigation, Trooper Kyzer surmised that the accident occurred at 8:15 p.m., give or take a few minutes.
The single commissioner awarded benefits to Shuler's husband and her dependent children, finding the accident arose out of and in the course of her employment. In making this finding, the commissioner noted that Shuler was bound by the terms of the Workers' Compensation Act at the time of the accident and that she could have lost her right to weekly benefits if she failed to receive the authorized medical treatment as directed. The single commissioner further found that Shuler's car could have been on the side of the road for some time before it was discovered, that Trooper Kyzer's estimated time of the accident was not based on any personal knowledge, and that the exact time of Shuler's accident could never be definitively established. The commissioner took judicial notice of "the fact that 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. is considered by many to be the 'supper hour,'" and found that even if Shuler stopped at a grocery store after her visit to the doctor's office, "such a stop would be insubstantial and would be covered under the allowed 'personal comfort' deviation." Finally, the commissioner found
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