Michael Deuso
v.
Shelburne Limestone Corporation
Opinion No. 20-19WC
Vermont Workers Compensation Decisions
State of Vermont Department of Labor
October 30, 2019
State
File No. JJ-718
Hearing held in Montpelier on August 28, 2019
Record
closed on September 24, 2019
Michael J. Deuso, pro se.
Glenn
S. Morgan, Esq. and Charles A. Romeo, Esq., for Defendant.
Beth
A. DeBernardi, Administrative Law Judge.
OPINION AND ORDER
Michael A. Harrington, Interim Commissioner.
ISSUES
PRESENTED:
1. Is
Claimant entitled to any temporary or permanent disability
benefits arising out of any injuries he may have sustained
during an April 21, 2017 workplace altercation?
2. Has
Claimant reached an end medical result for his work-related
hearing loss and tinnitus, and if so, as of what date?
3. What
is Claimant's permanent impairment, if any, for his
work-related hearing loss and tinnitus?
EXHIBITS:
Joint
Exhibit I: Medical records
Defendant's
Exhibit A: Noise Level Monitoring Report, October 2015
Defendant's
Exhibit B: MSHA Personal Health Sampling Results
Defendant's
Exhibit C: Curriculum Vitae of Verne Backus, MD
CLAIM:
Temporary
total disability benefits pursuant to 21 V.S.A. § 642
Permanent
partial disability benefits pursuant to 21 V.S.A. § 648
FINDINGS
OF FACT:
1. At
all times relevant to this claim, Claimant was an employee
and Defendant was his employer as those terms are defined in
the Vermont Workers' Compensation Act.
2. I
take judicial notice of all relevant forms and records in the
Department's file relating to this claim, including the
Commissioner's Ruling on Defendant's Motion for
Summary Judgment in Deuso v. Shelburne Limestone Corp.,
Opinion No. 13-18WC (September 14, 2018) (“Deuso
I”).
Claimant's
Employment by Defendant
3.
Claimant is a 59-year-old man who resides in Montgomery
Center, Vermont.
4.
Defendant is a family-owned business that operates several
stone quarries, including one located in Swanton, Vermont. In
2017 Dennis Demers was vice president of the business, and
his son Trampas Demers was president.
5.
Claimant began working for Defendant in 1983. Deuso I,
Finding of Fact No. 1. For many years, he worked as the
operator and manager of Defendant's Swanton plant.
The
April 21, 2017 Workplace Altercation and Claimant's
Separation from Employment
6. On
April 21, 2017, Dennis and Trampas Demers summoned Claimant
to a meeting concerning his job performance. Shortly after
the meeting started, Claimant yelled an obscenity, stormed
out of the meeting, and headed for the exit downstairs.
Dennis and Trampas Demers followed after him.
7. The
three men got into a physical altercation by the exit door.
Trampas Demers sustained a broken finger, and Claimant
sustained a bump on his head.1
8.
Claimant relinquished the keys to his company vehicle and
went home by taxicab shortly after the altercation. His
employment ended that day for reasons unrelated to any
claimed work injury. See Deuso I, Finding of Fact No. 24.
9.
After Claimant returned home, he decided to drive himself to
the emergency department of Northwestern Medical Center. An
emergency department physician diagnosed a scalp contusion,
with minimal scalp trauma and no signs of concussion, and
released him to return home. Joint Exhibit I (“Medical
Records”) at 109.
Claimant's
Activities from April 22, 2017 through September 12,
2017
10.
Claimant was diagnosed with a hernia two years prior to the
work altercation, but he declined his doctor's surgical
referral at that time. Deuso I, Finding of Fact No. 46. When
his employment ended in April 2017, he used his period of
unemployment to undergo hernia repair surgery. Medical
Records at 153-54.
11.
Eventually, Claimant “healed up” and began
looking for a new job. On or about September 12, 2017, he
returned to work for another employer in an electrical
apprenticeship program.
Expert
Medical Testimony on Claimant's Altercation-Related
Injuries
12.
Claimant alleges that he sustained a scalp contusion, a
concussion and a worsening of his tinnitus in the workplace
altercation.2 However, he offered no expert medical
testimony concerning the nature and extent of any injuries he
sustained.3
13. At
Defendant's request, Verne Backus, MD, performed an
independent medical examination of Claimant on November 1,
2017. Dr. Backus is a board-certified...
