Alabama Workers' Comp Blawg

Alabama Court of Appeals Reverses Trial Court's Order that Employer Pay for Knee Replacement

On February 27, 2015, the Alabama Court of Appeals released its decision in Ex parte Fairhope Health & Rehab, LLC. The facts of the case were as follows: The plaintiff, Lula Durgin worked as a nursing home activities director for Fairhope Health & Rehab. One day, while preparing to take a group of nursing home residents to the local Wal-Mart, she climbed into the driver's seat of her employer's van. Durgin alleged that in February 2012, she felt pain in her right knee as she went to sit down in the seat of the van. Durgin was sent to a local orthopaedist, who diagnosed her with a torn meniscus and pre-existing arthritis. The orthopaedist performed surgery to repair the torn meniscus, and released Durgin to return to work without restrictions. Durgin returned to work, but several months after surgery she continued to have pain in her right knee. Durgin's orthopedist related the continued pain to pre-existing arthritis. Durgin also contended that her knee caused her to fall several times, and on one occasion, she had sustained a back injury due to a fall at home. Another physician determined that Durgin needed to undergo a right knee total replacement surgery. Durgin contended that Fairhope Health & Rehab was responsible for the total knee replacement surgery, and that her alleged back injury was also compensable as the direct and natural result of her on-the-job-knee injury. Fairhope Health & Rehab asserted that Durgin's alleged injuries did not occur in or arise out of her employment, and that Durgin's need for a right knee replacement was not related to the alleged accident. Fairhope Health & Rehab also denied that Durgin had any compensable back injury and further asserted that her alleged back problems were the result of a prior accident that had occurred several years before she was hired. Durgin filed suit, and the parties took the deposition of the orthopedist who had performed the meniscus repair. During his deposition, Durgin's orthopedist reviewed medical records and MRIs taken of both Durgin's knees in 2007, five years prior to the February 2012 incident. Those MRIs showed that the menisci in both of Durgin's knees were shredded and severely torn. At that time, her doctor had recommended that she undergo knee replacement procedures of both knees. While Durgin elected to undergo a total knee replacement in her left knee, she had never had surgery to repair the torn meniscus or to replace the right knee joint. Despite this, she had been able to perform all of the regular duties of her job at Fairhope Health & Rehab prior to her alleged accident. Durgin's orthopedist stated that while the alleged incident in February 2012 may have exacerbated her already torn meniscus, the surgery he had performed restored her knee to a condition that was even better than it had been prior to the February 2012 incident. The orthopedist also testified that while Durgin continued to complain of pain in her knee, it was solely the result of the pre-existing arthritis in her "terrible looking knee", and not the February 2012 incident. Following the orthopedist's deposition, the case went to trial on three issues: (1) whether Durgin's alleged meniscus tear occurred in and arose out of her employment; (2) whether Durgin's need for a knee replacement surgery was related to the February 2012 incident; and (3) whether Durgin's alleged back injury was compensable. Durgin testified on her own behalf at trial, and also called one of her co-workers as a witness to testify that she had been able to perform her regular job duties prior to the February 2012 incident. The deposition and medical records of Durgin's treating physician were entered into evidence, as were medical records from the doctor who had performed the left knee replacement surgery in 2008. Despite the fact that no other evidence was presented at trial, the trial court found that the February 2012 incident exacerbated or aggravated Durgin's pre-existing meniscus tear, and that Fairhope Health & Rehab was responsible for Durgin's right knee replacement procedure. The trial court found that Durgin's alleged back injury was not compensable. Fairhope Health & Rehab appealed the findings that the torn meniscus and need for the knee replacement were related to Durgin's February 2012 incident. The Alabama Court of Appeals held that since the trial court did not determine the specific amount of temporary total or permanent partial disability benefits to which Durgin was entitled, it was not a final appealable Order. However, the Court of Appeals evaluated the employer's appeal as a Petition for Writ of Mandamus instead. The Court of Appeals held that the Trial Court's finding that Durgin sustained an accident occurring in and arising out of her employment that aggravated her already torn meniscus was supported by substantial evidence. However, since the only evidence presented on the issue of medical causation (the treating physician's deposition testimony and medical records) established that Durgin's need for a knee replacement was not related to her alleged accident, the Court of Appeals held that Durgin had failed to meet her burden of proof. As a result, it issued a Writ of Mandamus to the Trial Court, directing it to set aside the portion of the Order requiring Fairhope Health & Rehab to pay for the prescribed right knee replacement surgery. Two Judges dissented, stating that the Trial Court's Order was final for purposes of Appeal, since all of the issues submitted to the trial court had been decided. Despite their dissent on the procedural aspects of the case, those two judges concurred with the end result. MY TWO CENTS: If allowed to stand, the trial court's ruling would have required the employer to provide medical treatment that, according to Durgin's treating physicians, was unrelated to the alleged accident. In his dissent, Judge Moore stated, "the trial court could have reached its conclusion only by impermissibly deciding matters lying exclusively within the peculiar knowledge of medical experts." This was the same position taken by Fairhope Health & Rehab. While Alabama law has long held that expert medical testimony is not necessary to establish medical causation in a workers' compensation case, there was expert medical testimony in this case, and it firmly supported Fairhope Health & Rehab's position. Also important to note is that the Court of Appeals cited the case of Alamo v. PCH Hotels & Resorts, in finding that Fairhope Health & Rehab was not responsible for Durgin's knee replacement surgery because the alleged accident only temporarily aggravated her underlying arthritis. In doing so, I believe the Court of Appeals differentiated this situation from the one presented in Madison Academy v. Hanvey, reiterating that the employer is not liable for any continuing symptoms that result solely from a pre-existing condition. ------------------------------------------------- This article was written by Charley M. Drummond, Esq. of Fish Nelson & Holden, LLC. Fish Nelson & Holden is a law firm located in Birmingham, Alabama dedicated to representing employers, self-insured employers, and insurance carriers in workers' compensation cases and related liability matters. Drummond and his firm are members of The National Workers' Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN). The NWCDN is a national and Canadian network of reputable law firms organized to provide employers and insurers access to the highest quality representation in workers' compensation and related employer liability fields. If you have questions about this article or Alabama workers' compensation issues in general, please feel free to contact the author at cdrummond@fishnelson.com or (205) 332-3414.