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Davis v. Carter Mechanical3/30/2005
William Davis, Jr. was injured on January 16, 1998 in the course of his employment with Carter Mechanical, Inc., when a large steel platform fell on his right leg. He sought to have his injury designated as "catastrophic" under the applicable provision of the Workers' Compensation Act, OCGA § 34-9-200.1 (g) (6). The administrative law judge found that Davis's injury was catastrophic as defined under the Act, but the Appellate Division of the State Board of Workers' Compensation reversed that finding. The superior court affirmed. We granted Davis's discretionary appeal to address the issue of catastrophic injury under the Act.
Davis sought to prove that his injury is "catastrophic" by showing that it is "of such a nature and severity that prevents the employee from being able to perform his or her prior work and any work available in substantial numbers within the national economy for which such employee is otherwise qualified." OCGA § 34-9-200.1 (g) (6). There is no dispute that Davis is unable to perform his prior job. Accordingly, the only issue is whether there is any work available in substantial numbers within the national economy for which Davis is otherwise qualified.
Davis's work experience involved jobs requiring physical labor that he can no longer perform. His medical treatment included two operations on his knee. The last report furnished by Davis's doctor, dated October 27, 2001, imposed restrictions upon his lifting in excess of 50 pounds and upon excessive bending, stooping and squatting. The doctor recommended that he perform only sedentary work, which involves lifting up to ten pounds.
Davis's Functional Capacity Evaluation ("FCE"), dated April 4, 2002, shows his safe maximum work capacity within the medium to medium/heavy range, which entails no heavy lifting over 50 pounds. The FCE also recommended that he change position from standing to sitting every 30 minutes. Although the FCE lists some restrictions on kneeling, crawling, climbing and repetitive squatting, it does not specifically list any restrictions upon bending. On May 1, 2002, Davis's doctor signed a letter indicating that he agreed with the restrictions listed in the FCE.
Davis's vocational expert, William Thompson, testified at the hearing before the ALJ that he had interviewed Davis, reviewed his medical records, reviewed the FCE, performed a vocational assessment, and conducted several tests to measure Davis's achievement, intellectual aptitudes, educational level and temperament. In addition to the physical restrictions listed in the medical reports and FCE, Thompson's tests indicated that Davis's reading comprehension is at a fourth-grade level and his vocabulary is at a seventh-grade level. He spells at a third-grade level, and functions at a high school level in math. His I. Q. score of 87 places him in the average range of intelligence. Davis graduated high school out of the special education curriculum.
Based upon these factors, Thompson testified that Davis would have trouble filling out a job application because he cannot read or write well. He said that Davis would need help in reading about job opportunities or filling out job applications. Further, he "may find it difficult to succeed in any job that called for salesmanship, supervising others, communication skills, managerial skills, public relations skills, and interviewing skills." It was Thompson's opinion that no work was available in substantial numbers within the national economy for which Davis was qualified given his limitations.
Carl Dye, the vocational expert for Carter Mechanical, testified that he had prepared a labor market survey and a list of jobs reflecting a substantial number
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