30-11WC. Leo Moulton v. J.P. Carrera, Inc.
Court | Vermont |
Vermont Workers Compensation
2011.
30-11WC.
Leo Moulton v. J.P. Carrera, Inc
Leo Moulton v. J.P. Carrera, Inc.(October 11, 2011)STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF LABOROpinion No. 30-11WCBy: Phyllis Phillips, Esq. Hearing OfficerFor: Anne M. Noonan CommissionerState File No. X-63476OPINION AND ORDERHearing held in Montpelier, Vermont on April 25 and 26, 2011
Record closed on June 16, 2011APPEARANCES:James Dumont, Esq., for Claimant James
O'Sullivan, Esq., for DefendantISSUES PRESENTED:
1. Is Claimant permanently and totally disabled as a consequence
of his work activities on or about September 17, 2004?
2. If not, is Claimant entitled to vocational rehabilitation
services as a consequence of his September 2004 work injury?
3. Is Defendant obligated to pay various medical bills incurred
for treatment of Claimant's neck condition as causally related to his September
2004 work injury?
EXHIBITS:
Joint Exhibit I: Medical records
Joint Exhibit II: CD of x-rays, 4/14/11
Joint Exhibit III: Supplemental medical records
Claimant's Exhibit 1: Various photographs
Claimant's Exhibit 2: Various correspondence
Claimant's Exhibit 3: Curriculum vitae, Gregory
LeRoy
CLAIM:
Permanent total disability benefits pursuant to 21 V.S.A.
§645 Medical benefits pursuant to 21 V.S.A. §640 Vocational
rehabilitation benefits pursuant to 21 V.S.A. §641 Interest, costs and
attorney fees pursuant to 21 V.S.A. §§664 and 678
FINDINGS OF FACT:
1. At all times relevant to these proceedings, Claimant was an
employee and Defendant was his employer as those terms are defined in Vermont's
Workers' Compensation Act.
2. Judicial notice is taken of all relevant forms and
correspondence contained in the Department's file relating to this
claim.
Claimant's Work as a Bridge
Tensioner
3. Claimant began working for Defendant in June 2001. Defendant
manufactures and installs precast concrete products, including bridge beams and
planks.
4. Although initially Claimant was hired to do yard and
janitorial work, within a few months' time he began doing bridge tensioning
work as well. Bridge tensioning is the process by which the cables that hold a
bridge beam in place are installed and tightened. In Claimant's case, the job
entailed being suspended upside down from a harness attached to the bridge
deck, pulling the cable through and using a heavy jack to adjust it to the
appropriate tension. Each step in the process took two to five minutes of
upside down harness work. Depending on the size of the bridge and the number of
cables to be installed, Claimant might have to be suspended anywhere from 15 to
70 times in a day.
5. Between 2001 and 2004 Claimant estimated that he worked on 62
bridges. The work was somewhat sporadic; some weeks he might work on three
bridges, some weeks none at all. When not assigned to tensioning work, Claimant
continued with his regular janitorial duties.
6. Claimant often experienced neck pain while performing his
bridge tensioning duties. On one occasion he worked on a job where instead of
being suspended upside down in harnesses, the bridge tensioners knelt upright
on temporary platforms. Claimant found this position to be much less stressful
on his neck. Later he suggested that Defendant consider utilizing similar
equipment, but it declined to do so.
Claimant's Work Injury, Medical Course and
Current Condition
7. In mid-September 2004 Claimant was driving home from a bridge
tensioning job in Maine when he began to experience neck pain and vertigo. As
to the latter condition, Claimant's medical records document prior episodes of
dizziness, with no cause ever ascribed. This time as well, neither specialist
evaluations nor diagnostic testing revealed a clear etiology. Eventually the
condition resolved on its own.
8. Claimant had experienced occasional bouts of neck stiffness in
the past as well. These episodes had always resolved with little treatment.
This time, however, his symptoms, consisting of left-sided neck pain,
stiffness, swelling and spasms, continued. Diagnostic testing revealed some
degenerative changes in his cervical spine, but no evidence of disc herniation
or other neurological compromise. Ultimately, Claimant was diagnosed with a
myofascial pain syndrome focused in his left lateral neck.
9. Because Claimant's neck pain was not radicular in nature,
surgery was not an appropriate treatment option. Instead, he treated
conservatively, first with physical therapy and later with botulism toxin
(botox) injections. None of these treatments was effective at controlling his
symptoms.
10. Having derived no benefit from botox injections, in July 2007
Claimant's treating neurologist, Dr. Orecchio, determined that he had reached
an end medical result. On those grounds, the Department approved Defendant's
discontinuance of temporary total disability benefits effective November 20,
2007. In April 2008 Dr. Bucksbaum, a physiastrist, rated Claimant with a 7%
whole person permanent impairment referable to his cervical spine.
11. Currently Claimant suffers from extremely limited range of
motion in his neck. He holds his left shoulder in an elevated position, as
otherwise he experiences painful muscle spasms. Virtually any movement of his
neck or left arm exacerbates his pain, as does any sustained posture, including
sitting. When his neck is irritated it swells to the point where even
swallowing hurts.
12. Claimant has not worked as a bridge tensioner since
mid-September 2004. After a period of total disability, in late December 2005
he resumed his janitorial duties for Defendant. While performing these duties,
in March 2006 he experienced an acute exacerbation of neck pain, as a result of
which he was taken out of work again. Claimant has not returned to work
since.
13. In a typical week now, Claimant might take one or two short
walks in the meadowlands behind his home, often with a camera, which he uses to
photograph wildlife. He is at least somewhat computer literate, and will spend
up to 30 minutes at a time on his computer, though not daily. He is restricted
physically in this activity by his inability to sit for extended periods of
time as well as by his limited ability to use his left hand. He no longer
drives, as he cannot turn his head enough to see cars approaching at
intersections. Most nights he sleeps in a...
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