No. 02232993 (2000). EMPLOYEE: Christo Lagos.

Case DateFebruary 10, 2000
CourtMassachusetts
Massachusetts Workers Compensation 2000. No. 02232993 (2000). EMPLOYEE: Christo Lagos COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS EMPLOYEE: Christo Lagos EMPLOYER: Mary A. Jennings, Inc. INSURER: Liberty Mutual InsuranceBOARD NO. 02232993REVIEWING BOARD DECISION (Judges Maze-Rothstein, Carroll and Levine)APPEARANCES William T. Salisbury, Esq., and Mary B. Klegman, Esq., for the employee Thomas G. Brophy, Esq., for the insurer at hearing Andrew P. Saltis, Esq., for the insurer on brief MAZE-ROTHSTEIN, J. For the second time, the insurer appeals this case to the reviewing board. In Lagos v. Mary A. Jennings, Inc., 11 Mass. Workers' Comp. Rep. 109 (1997), we recommitted it for a specific determination of whether the employee had a pre-existing condition that would trigger a § 1(7A) analysis. The hearing decision following recommital answered that question in the negative and awarded § 34A weekly permanent and total incapacity benefits for the employee's psychological condition. For reasons stated below, we affirm the decision. The parties stipulated to the following facts. On June 18, 1993, while employed as a construction worker, a piece of metal being hammered by another employee splintered, impaling Mr. Lagos' neck. He bled profusely. The force of the blow knocked him backwards. He was transported to a hospital emergency room where a vascular surgeon was summoned to surgically remove the shrapnel embedded in his neck. (Dec. 7 1; Joint Exhibit 1.) While awaiting the surgeon, Mr. Lagos was left by himself on a stretcher in a small room for several hours. He experienced searing neck pain, panic, palpitations, profuse sweating and difficulty breathing while waiting. He believed he was dying. In preparation for the surgery, a sheet was hung between Mr. Lagos' head and the neck wound to block his view of the procedure. As the anesthesia began to take effect, he had a flashback to unpleasant early childhood experiences. During this episode he recalled that as a small child 2 his mother would close him in a bureau drawer while she worked and that one of his older siblings would let him out upon returning home from school. Also while confined in the drawer, he smelled mothballs, felt rats crawling on him, laid very still and had difficulty breathing. (Dec. 7-8; Joint exhibit 1.) Since his industrial accident and subsequent surgery, the Mr. Lagos has extreme difficulty breathing while lying down. Consequently, he sleeps upright. He can no longer drive much, due to confusion. He has difficulty concentrating. He suffers from racing thoughts, shortness of breath, sweating, high anxiety, agitation, headaches, poor appetite, forgetfulness, low energy, crying spells and depression. (Dec. 9.) He has not worked since June 18, 1993. (Dec. 4.) The insurer paid § 34 temporary total incapacity benefits on a without prejudice basis from June 19, 1993 to November 15, 1993. Thereafter, the employee filed a claim for further benefits based on his neck injury as well as...

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