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Vaughn v. Carriers11/30/2005
Submitted November 1, 2005
AFFIRMED
In this workers' compensation action, Salem Carriers and Virginia Surety Carrier appeal the trial court's order affirming the order of the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission), which awarded benefits to Faye Vaughn for the death of her husband, Robert Vaughn. We affirm.
FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Salem Carriers employed Robert primarily as a drop and hook driver from December 1996 until his death on July 7, 1999. As a drop and hook driver, Robert transported box trailers filled with textiles from the Sara Lee plant in Hodges, South Carolina to another plant location, dropped off the trailer, picked up a trailer, and then returned to the plant in Hodges. A drop and hook operation is considered light duty work for a truck driver.
During the week of July 1 through 7 of 1999, the Sara Lee plants were shut down and Robert was not scheduled to drive. Robert agreed, however, to substitute as a flatbed truck driver for Salem Carrier's RMAX account. Driving a flatbed truck typically requires more physical activity than a drop and hook operation of dropping off and hooking up to loads. Flatbed driving often involves securing the load, requiring tarping, climbing, and strapping by the driver. The strapping and tarping occurs after the truck has been loaded, and the loading usually takes fifteen to twenty minutes for a load the size of the one Robert was driving. One of the drivers who Robert substituted for at the time of his death, Eugene Miller, testified about the normal process for securing a load. Miller testified that at the RMAX plant, if he was present he would observe the product being loaded, but sometimes it was loaded without him being there. In securing the load, a driver first has to throw six or seven straps over the load. He then has to climb up a thirteen-foot ladder, which is like an airplane ladder, onto the top of the load and get on his hands and knees in order to straighten the straps. He would stand up to go to the next strap and then get down on his hands and knees again. He would also put corner pieces on to keep the load from being damaged. He then climbs back down the ladder and hooks the straps and tightens them with a metal bar. Finally, the driver would usually put a tarp weighing twenty to thirty pounds, over the load, climb back up the ladder, and then spread the tarp over the load. He would then secure the tarp by hooking thirty or forty bungee cords onto the tarp, tighten the cords, and then hook them to the side of the trailer. The strapping and tarping normally takes from thirty minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes, depending on the driver.
While working for Salem Carriers, Robert drove a flatbed truck only three days in 1998 and for two days in July 1999 before the day of his death. It is undisputed Robert was a drop and hook driver, as opposed to a flatbed driver, ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent of the time he was employed with Salem Carriers. When Robert came home after his first day as a substitute driver during the first week of July, 1999, his wife testified that he was dragging, gray, ashy, and sweating. After he worked July 1 and 2, he was off for a long weekend. Over that weekend he did a little painting and wallpapering, and cut the grass with a riding mower, but did not perform any strenuous activities. According to Faye's testimony, on July 6, Robert arrived home early and appeared normal. Robert's log sheet indicated he was present at the RMAX plant from ten in the morning until noon that day. The log sheet does not specify what he was doing at the plant for that time and the parties dispute whether the truck was loaded and R
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