Pueblo v. General Motors Corp., 0408 MIWC, 2008-316
| Case Date | April 01, 2008 |
| Court | Michigan |
1. The parties are subject to the Michigan compensation laws on the dates of injury alleged, 4/28/99, 12/24/01, and 10/31/05.
2. The defendant was self-insured.
3. Plaintiff was in the employ of defendant on the dates of injury alleged.
4. Notice was given and claim made according to statute for each alleged injury.
5. The gross wage is not here for the injury date of April 1999. There is a stipulation that the wage as of 12/24/01 was sufficient for the maximum rate in effect for that year, $580. For 10/31/05, the wage is $1,727.05.
6. There is no dual employment.
7. The tax status is married, filing joint.ISSUES:
1. Whether plaintiff met with personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment on any, some or all of the dates alleged.
2. Whether a disability resulted from the alleged injury or injuries.
3. Whether a wage loss has been incurred, and if so, the term and amount of compensation to be paid as a result.
4. Plaintiff’s entitlement to medical expenses and treatment.
5. Whether any benefits were paid or furnished for which coordination or offset would be appropriate under Section 354 or 358.
6. Back Rules.SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE . ALLEN DON PUEBLO testified on his own behalf. He is married to Debbie, who is here in the courtroom. He did not graduate, but did attend high school to the 12th grade. He can read and write, and has no military service. He began work at GM in 1976 at Kalamazoo, right before he turned 21. He took and passed a pre-employment physical. His first job was taking door skins and loading them onto a rack. He said each skin weighed about 10 pounds and when the rack was full it was moved on wheels. After that job he was bumped to metal assembly and made up racks of loaded doors. He put cardboard between the doors so they wouldn’t get scratched. He did this job for a couple of years and had no problems. His next job was door loader. He loaded the doors on the racks. They weighed 90 pounds at least. He loaded them with one hand and hit a button. Next, he did whatever job he was needed to do at the production level. He began by working with metal gondolas that were about 3 ½ feet off the floor, taking the parts out of them and putting them on a rack. This was a fast job. He bid on his next job and became a press operator. These were big presses and he would put a part in it, activate the press and do this over and over. The parts weighed from 6 to 40 pounds. He says this was a fast job, running hundreds of parts an hour. He ran a press for 10 to 15 years. He developed problems with his arms and shoulders and elbows on this job. He did not miss much time at all. He often went to plant medical for these problems, but they did not keep him from working. Other jobs that plaintiff did were die setting and overhead crane operator. As a die setter he had to wrench some bolts that were heavy and tight. As a crane operator he had to use heavy chains to move the dies with. Plaintiff transferred to another plant because Kalamazoo was closing. Plaintiff lost about 8 months of work due to a back injury while still in Kalamazoo. In May 1999 he had a shoulder problem. He tried to work through it and reported it to plant medical. He had some restrictions but he seldom needed them because he could move around as necessary. This changed when he left Kalamazoo. Plaintiff’s transfer was in late 1999. He was sent to Janesville Wisconsin. He worked a four 10 hour days work week there. He did not have to take a physical but did have restrictions. He was employed in the trim department there. Plaintiff put parts into the hatch door of a Tahoe there in Janesville. He would start installing his parts and walked down the line with the vehicle to do the installation. The parts were to his right and he would look at a manifest to see what parts were needed. He would put them in and then give them a smack to pop the plastic skin in place. His hands would be above his head or at least at eye level. This took place during the entire work day. He demonstrated this in the court room. He lasted about 3 weeks and his right shoulder swelled. He was taken off that job by the doctor and was put on a different job, doing the door striker. He installed it, using a torque gun and clamps. The gun was about 2 feet wide and it hung on a cable so if it was dropped it would not hit the ground. The gun was about 3 to 4 feet off the ground for him to get it. When the gun drove the bolt all the way in, it would jerk in his hands. This would give him a jolt. He did this job for 6 months. It affected both his shoulders. The line speed kept speeding up so he bid onto a different job, stacking parts, tending a conveyor belt and other things that were easier than on the regular line. He had this job 3 months and was able to do it. He would take parts out of a gondola, put them on a stand near the conveyor belt and load it. These parts weighed up to 60 pounds. The parts were slippery and he could not lift very many of them. He lifted to chest level. Then, the shop changed over to a new body shop, which meant that his job changed again. They brought in ergonomics to make the jobs less problematical. He remained on the conveyor job. In 2001 plaintiff was given the opportunity to get to Flint and transferred here. His restrictions when he got here were no lifting or grasping, no overhead work and no use of torque guns. He went through a placement center and was put into a certain area. His first job was the door line. He put in the rain paper, which is the sheeting that covers the inside of the door. He said that they were trying to get rid of him which is why they put him on this job. He had to put the paper all around the inside of the door, but he could never get it to come out right. He had to use his hands, and it was overhead work as well. This job caused swelling in his hands and shoulders and gave him a stiff neck. Plaintiff went to plant medical and talked to the nurse. The plant nurse said that the placement lady, Janet, was supposed to handle these things. He went off in December 2001 for a time. His restrictions never changed. He stayed off until October 2003. When he came back, he was an area relief man and they put him to work training to do the various jobs. Plaintiff worked all kinds of jobs. Jobs come up for bid every six months. He ended up bidding on to the tailgate job. He did it two years. He installed a tailgate protector on the pickup truck. He used a rubber mallet and hammer to do that. He used a heating machine to soften it to put it on. The top of the tailgate was about chest high. He would lift the mallet to about head level and pound down on it. This mallet had a 4 inch head with a 15 inch handle and he had to strike the plastic between 4 to 5 times and 15 to 20 times, depending on whether he used the heat lamp or not. There was a handle that operated the tailgate and he would torque down the screws in the handle mount, 4 at once. He would use a gripper machine that was hanging about eye level. The gripper would tighten the plastic. To reach the gripper he would use one hand to reach just above eye level. This job was one that they gave him to try and it was probably the easiest job he could get. Plaintiff last worked on 10/31/05 as his shoulder continued...
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