58-98WC. Latouche v. North Country Union High School.

• Case Date: October 19, 1998
• Court: Vermont

Vermont Workers Compensation 1998. 58-98WC. Latouche v. North Country Union High School October 19, 1998State File No. K-00113 By: Margaret A. ManganHearing Officer For: Steve JansonCommissionerOpinion NO. 58-98WC Rena Latouche v. North Country Union High SchoolHearing held in Montpelier on May 13, 14, 15, 1998 Record Closed on July 6, 1998 APPEARANCES: John C. Page, Esq. for the claimant Keith J. Kasper, Esq. for the defendant ISSUE: Did claimant suffer an injury by accident or an occupational disease which arose out of and in the course of employment with defendant and, if so, what is the nature of that injury or disease? EXHIBITS: Joint Exhibit I: Medical Records Joint Exhibit II: NCUHS Floor Plan, first floor Joint Exhibit II: ATC Indoor Air Quality Report Claimant's Ex. 1: Letter from Dept. of Health to Tom Cope, June 23, 1995 Claimant's Ex. 2: Honeywell Indoor Air Quality Survey, Aug. 20, 1996 Claimant's Ex. 3: EPA report February, 1998 Claimant's Ex. 4: Letter from Health Dept. to NCUHS Business Manager, Sept. 18, 1997 Claimant's Ex. 5: Health Dept. memorandum to NCUHS Superintendent, Nov. 25, 1997 Claimant's Ex. 6: Health Dept. memorandum to NCUHS Principal, Jan. 1, 1998 Claimant's Ex. 7: Letter from NCUHS nurse to Mr. Mazzucco, Dec. 22, 1997 Claimant's Ex. 8: Selected School Board minutes Claimant's Ex. 9: Attendance records Dec. 22, 1995 and Jan. 9, 1996 Claimant's Ex. 10: Indoor Air Quality Log Claimant's Ex. 11: Capital Bond Projects, Oct. 2, 1996 NCUHS Claimant's Ex. 12: Environmental Medicine, 1995, ch. 30: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Defendant's Ex. A: Note from Rena to Tom dated Feb. 4, 1994 Defendant's Ex. B: Letter from Race Ziem, M.D. To Whom It May Concern, July 15, 1996 Defendant's Ex. C: April 8, 1998 memo re: student population on Jan. 27, 1998 Defendant's Ex. D: Thomas J. Broido's curriculum vitae Defendant's Ex. E: John A. Davis's curriculum vitae Defendant's Ex. F: Clinical Ecology article from JAMA, December 1992 Defendant's Ex. G: Clinical Ecology article from The Western Journal of Medicine Feb. 1986 Defendant's Ex. L: Study of Symptom Provocation, NEJM, Aug. 16, 1990 Defendant's Ex. N: Sick Building Syndrome article from Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology October 1997 STIPULATION: 1. Claimant was an employee of defendant within the meaning of the Vermont Workers' Compensation Act (Act) at all relevant times. 2. Defendant was an employer within the meaning of the Act at all relevant times. 3. Vermont School Board Insurance Trust Fund (VSBIT) was the workers' compensation insurance carrier for defendant at all relevant times. 4. On or before November 20, 1995, claimant alleges that she became disabled due to a personal injury by accident, arising out of and in the course of her employment with defendant. 5. On or before November 20, 1995, claimant's average weekly wage was $557.85 resulting in an initial compensation rate of $371.86. 6. As of November 20, 1995 and currently, claimant has no dependents within the meaning of the Act. 7. The sole issue for resolution in the instant proceeding is whether claimant suffered an injury or occupational disease by accident arising out of and in the course of employment with defendant, and if so, what is the nature of that injury. 8. The parties agree that dependent upon the Commissioner's determination of the compensability issue, further proceedings may be necessary to resolve the issue of claimant's entitlement of benefits pursuant to the Act. 9. The parties agree that all official forms in the Department's files in this claim and the Joint Exhibits may be admitted without objection in this matter. EXPERT WITNESSES: Expert witnesses who testified at the hearing on issues of indoor air quality and associated health risks were John Mazzucco, Risk Assessment Coordinator for the Vermont Department of Health; William Bress, Ph.D., Chief Toxicologist, Vermont Department of Health; Thomas Broido, Branch Manager, ATC Environmental, Inc.; Michele C. Moore, M.D. and Richard Davis, M.D. FINDINGS OF FACT: 1. Claimant is a 1979 graduate of North Country Union High School (NCUHS). As a senior she was honored as the school's outstanding industrial arts student. Afterwards, she studied industrial arts education at Keene State College where she graduated in 1983. 2. She taught vocational-technical education in New Hampshire and Vermont public schools for several years, then in 1991 obtained a Vermont certification as a special needs teacher in vocational-technical education. 3. In September 1991 claimant began teaching at NCUHS as a special needs teacher in vocational-technical education. She worked in the Career Center in the C-wing of the building where all vocational-technical courses were taught. 4. Claimant identified the following potential sources of indoor air contamination in the building: welding shop; metal crucible with inoperative vent hood; automobile shop where engines were operated; drafting shop with bluepoint machine that was not vented to the outside; culinary arts lab with commercial-style propane fueled cooking range; woodworking shop where paints, solvents, glues and other sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were used; natural resources class in which chainsaws and other timber harvesting equipment and fuels were stored; computer laboratory with ink jet printers, claimant's classroom which contained a copier; carpeting, windows near where buses stopped and, in the spring of 1995, a sink with septic backup. 5. As a special needs teacher, claimant worked directly with students in the vocational-technical program who were identified as being at risk or disadvantaged. She worked primarily in Room 306B which could be reached only by passing through the school's culinary arts or woodworking shops. In addition, her teaching took her to students in C-wing shops, labs and classrooms. Although she had worked in the automotive shop in the past, she did not work there in the 1994-1995 school year. At no time when claimant actually worked in the auto shop, did she have complaints of poor air quality. 6. From September 1991 until 1994, claimant worked without health concerns. 7. Although claimant testified that she loved her job, she had expressed great frustration with the school that prompted a February 1994 letter requesting references because she was not sure she would return to the school 8. During the summer of 1994, when it was likely that windows were open, claimant took a course that was held in the library at NCUHS, The library is located in the B-wing, separated from the alleged sources of indoor air pollutants by two sets of doors. 9. Also in the summer of 1994, claimant had a pesticide applied in her home to treat it for carpenter ants. Claimant's health concerns in 1994-1995 10. On August 9, 1994 claimant saw James Lontine, a physician's assistant at the Island Pond Health Center, with a complaint of headache with some nausea. Mr. Lontine noted a history of chronic sinus symptoms and claimant's feeling that she was not suffering from a sinus infection at that time. A follow-up CT scan of the head was negative. 11. At a return visit to the health center on August 18, Mr. Lontine noted that claimant's daily, throbbing headaches persisted. He also noted that she recently had her bedroom treated for carpenter ants with "something natural." On August 26, Dr. Robert Primeau examined claimant, noted that the headaches persisted, that "she hasn't been exposed to anything that seems...