Alabama Workers' Comp Blawg

  • 29
  • Oct
  • 2010

Verdict for Employee Reversed due to Notice and Statute of Limitations Violations

City of Gadsden v. Lawrence Scott:

On October 29, 2010, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals released this opinion wherein it considered whether or not the employee proved by clear and convincing evidence that his carpal tunnel syndrome of the right wrist was job related. The trial court returned a verdict in favor of the employee. On appeal, the Court considered the job duties of the 59 year old that was employed as a police office for over 30 years. Although the employee testified that he had to use his right hand repetitively on a daily basis, the evidence did not demonstrate that he did so in a manner that exceeds what ordinary people are exposed to in their every day lives. An employee must be able to demonstrate such exposure in order to prove legal causation. Since the employee was unable to satisfy his burden that his job caused a cumulative trauma injury, the employee was not able to use the date of last exposure as his accident date. As such, he failed to meet the 90 day notice requirement or file his lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations and the verdict was reversed.

Follow and connect with us!

Categories