Skip to content
Ott Law Firm

Richard Leonard v. Novacare Inc.

Decision date: February 9, 200712 pages

Summary

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award in a workers' compensation case involving a lumbar spine injury and chronic depression sustained on September 28, 1998. The Commission affirmed the finding of work-related injury but modified conclusions regarding permanent total disability, past medical expenses, and future medical care.

Archive Notice

This archive contains published Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission workers' compensation decisions reproduced for research convenience. Official source links remain authoritative where provided. Joseph Ott, Attorney 67889, Ott Law Firm - Constant Victory - Personal Injury and Litigation maintains these public legal archives to support Missouri case research and to help prospective clients connect that research to the firm's courtroom practice.

Related Legal Help

Practical guidance for this decision

Third-Party Injury Check

This workers' comp decision may point to a separate injury claim.

  • A driver, contractor, property owner, or equipment company may share fault.
  • The injury involved a vehicle, unsafe premises, defective equipment, or a non-employer vendor.
  • A serious injury or death may need both benefits review and civil-claim analysis.

Caption

Issued by THE LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION
FINAL AWARD ALLOWING COMPENSATION (Modifying Award and Decision of Administrative Law Judge)
Injury No.: 98-113992
Employee:Richard Leonard
Employer:Novacare Inc.
Insurer:Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company
Additional Party:Treasurer of Missouri as Custodian of Second Injury Fund
Date of Accident:September 28, 1998
Place of Accident:St. Louis City, Missouri
The above-entitled workers' compensation case is submitted to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (Commission) for review as provided bysection 287.480 RSMo. We have reviewed the evidence, read the briefs, heard oral argument of the parties and considered the entire record. Pursuant to section 286.090 RSMo, theCommission modifies the award and decision of the administrative law judge dated October 12, 2005.
I. Trial Issues and Award Issued by Administrative Law Judge
The parties stipulated before the administrative law judge that the following issues were in dispute:(1) injury due to accident arising out of and in the course of employment;(2) medical causation between injury complained of and accident occurring September 28, 1998; (3) past medical expenses; (4) future medical care and treatment deemed necessary to cure and relieve from the effects of the injury; (5) permanent disability attributable to the injury; (6) liability, if any, of Second Injury Fund; and (7) apportionment of costs.
The administrative law judge reached the following determinations and conclusions: employee sustained an injury due to an accident arising out of and in the course of hisemployment on September 28, 1998; employee was awarded past medical expenses in the amount of $63,462.50; the accident occurring September 28, 1998, in and of itself rendered the employee permanently and totallydisabled; employee was awarded future medical care and treatment to cure and relieve him from the effects of the injury, i.e., injury to his lumbar spine and chronic depression; there is no Second Injury Fund liability; and there were no costs assessed against any party.
Employer/insurer timely filed an Application for Review with the Commission alleging the award issued by the administrative law judge waserroneous based on the following: (1) awarding permanent total disability solely against employer/insurer; (2) awarding $63,462.50 for past medical expenses; (3) awarding future medical care and treatment to cure and relieve employee from the effects of theinjury sustained; (4) evidentiary errors in admitting into evidence over objection Exhibits A, F, G, J, K, O-2, O-3, T, U, W, X and Y.
The Commission modifies the conclusions reached by the administrative law judge by separate opinion.
II. Facts
In the award on hearing issued by the administrative law judge a portion of the award, under the subheading, “Findings of Fact”, contains 25 numberedparagraphs summarizing the facts of the case. The Commission finds that paragraphs numbered 1-23 provide an accurate summary of the facts of the case which are adopted.
Paragraph numbers 24 and 25 are not adopted by the Commission and any additional fact finding to be made by the Commission will be discussed below asnecessary to resolve the issues on appeal presented by the

employer/insurer.

III. Evidentiary Objections and Rulings

As to Exhibits A, F, G, J and K, employee offered each of these exhibits into evidence pursuant to the provisions of Section 287.210.7 RSMo. As to each of these exhibits, employer/insurer made several objections, to wit: that none of them satisfied the statutory requirements set forth in sections 287.210 .5 and 7 RSMo; there was not sufficient foundation established for their admissibility to overcome hearsay objections; none of the exhibits satisfied the provisions of section 287.140.7 RSMo concerning admission of certifying treating records of physicians; and none of these exhibits satisfied the business records provision of section 490.680 RSMo, permitting their admission into evidence.

Section 287.210.7 RSMo provides in part as follows:

"The testimony of a treating or examining physician may be submitted in evidence on the issues in controversy by a complete medical report and shall be admissible without other foundational evidence subject to compliance with the following procedures. The party intending to submit a complete medical report in evidence shall give notice at least sixty days prior to the hearing to all parties and shall provide reasonable opportunity to all parties to obtain cross-examination testimony of the physician by deposition. The notice shall include a copy of the report and all the clinical and treatment records of the physician including copies of all records and reports received by the physician from other health care providers."

Section 287.210.5 RSMo provides in part as follows:

"As used in this chapter the terms 'physician's report' and 'medical report' mean the report of any physician made on any printed form authorized by the division or the commission or any complete medical report. As used in this chapter the term 'complete medical report' means the report of a physician giving the physician's qualifications and the patient's history, complaints, details of the findings of any and all laboratory, X-ray and all other technical examinations, diagnosis, prognosis, nature of disability, if any, and an estimate of the percentage of permanent partial disability, if any. An element or elements of a complete medical report may be met by the physician's records."

The Commission is of the opinion that if a party complies with the statutory provisions of section 287.210 RSMo, the complete medical report offered is to be admitted into evidence without other foundational evidence, rendering additional objections as to foundation, authenticity, etc., moot.

Exhibit A is set forth on pages 188-241. It contains medical records of Dr. Marino and purports to be the complete medical report of Dr. Marino. The qualifications of Dr. Marino are not included in Exhibit A. The Commission finds that Exhibit A does not satisfy the statutory requisites of section 287.210 .5 and 7 RSMo, as being a complete medical report, and sustains the objection made by employer/insurer. The Commission has not relied on this exhibit in reaching any of its conclusions.

Exhibit A also contains an affidavit with a notarial seal dated April 16, 2002. However, the affidavit does not indicate the number of pages attached and there are several pages to the exhibit attached which are dated subsequent to April 16, 2002, thus, this exhibit can also not be admitted into evidence pursuant to the provisions of section 287.140.7 RSMo, concerning certified records of a treating physician. Exhibit A also does not meet the statutory requisites of business records pursuant to section 490.680 RSMo. Exhibit A is excluded from evidence in its entirety.

The Commission notes that the deposition of Dr. Marino was taken and introduced into evidence as Exhibit V. It was reviewed, considered and weighed, in reaching the Commission's final conclusions.

Exhibit F is set forth on pages 336-401. It contains medical records of Dr. Granberg and purports to be the complete medical report of Dr. Granberg. The qualifications of Dr. Granberg are not included in Exhibit F. The Commission finds that Exhibit F does not satisfy the statutory requisites of sections 287.210 .5 and 7 RSMo,

as being a complete medical report, and sustains the objection made by employer/insurer. It is not admissible pursuant to section 287.140.7 RSMo, as there was no certification attached. It is not admissible pursuant to section 490.680 RSMo as it was not authenticated as required by the statute. The Commission did not consider Exhibit F in reaching its conclusions.

Exhibit G is set forth on pages 403-546. It contains medical records of Dr. Granberg, the qualifications of Dr. Granberg, and purports to be the complete medical report of Dr. Granberg. The Commission finds the statutory requisites of sections 287.210 .5 and 7 RSMo were satisfied, and affirms its admission into evidence as determined by the administrative law judge. The Commission reviewed, considered and weighed this evidence in reaching its conclusions. Since it is admissible pursuant to the provisions of section 287.210 RSMo, objections that the exhibit was not authenticated as a business record pursuant to section 490.680 RSMo or not certified pursuant to section 287.140.7 RSMo, are moot.

Exhibit J is set forth on pages 561-592. It contains the medical records of Dr. Feinberg, the qualifications of Dr. Feinberg and purports to be the complete medical report of Dr. Feinberg. The Commission finds the statutory requisites of sections 287.210 .5 and 7 RSMo were satisfied and affirms its admission into evidence. Any objections that it was not authenticated as a business record pursuant to section 490.680 RSMo and not certified pursuant to section 287.140.7 RSMo are rendered moot due to its admissibility under sections 287.210 .5 and 7 RSMo. The Commission reviewed, considered and weighed this evidence in reaching its conclusions.

The Commission further notes the deposition of Dr. Feinberg was taken and submitted into evidence as Exhibit J. This evidence was reviewed, considered and weighed by the Commission in reaching its conclusions.

Exhibit K is set forth on pages 593-627. It contains medical records of Dr. Malik and purports to be the complete medical report of Dr. Malik. The qualifications of Dr. Malik are not included in Exhibit K. The Commission finds that Exhibit K does not satisfy the statutory requisites of sections 287.210 .5 and 7 RSMo , as being a complete medical report, and sustains the objection made by employer/insurer. Exhibit K is not admissible pursuant to section 287.140.7 RSMo as the custodial affidavit certifying the authenticity of the medical records is deficient. The certification attests to thirteen pages and Exhibit K consists of thirty-five pages. Exhibit K is not admissible pursuant to section 490.680 RSMo as it was not authenticated as required by statute. The Commission did not consider Exhibit K in reaching its conclusions.

Exhibit O-2 is a computerized billing statement from the office of Dr. Feinberg. Dr. Feinberg testified as to the reasonableness and the necessity of his treatment and the Commission finds this exhibit was properly admitted into evidence and the Commission has relied on this exhibit in reaching its determinations and conclusions.

Exhibit T, a computerized printout of the business records of Walgreen's, has an appropriate custodial affidavit attached and said exhibit was properly admitted into evidence pursuant to section 490.680 RSMo. The Commission has relied on this exhibit in reaching its determinations and conclusions.

Exhibit U is a hearsay document without proper foundation and or authentication, and objection to its admission into evidence is sustained. The Commission did not rely on this exhibit in reaching any conclusions or determinations in this case.

Exhibit W represents medical expenses in the amount of $\ 6,175.40 incurred under the auspices of Dr. Granberg. The treating records of Dr. Granberg were admissible in evidence and contained in Exhibit G, and the Commission also is of the opinion that the testimony of the wife of the employee, connecting these bills with the treatment received due to the accident, provides a sufficient basis for its admission into evidence. See Martin v. MidAmerica Farm Lines, Inc., 769 S.W.2d 105 (Mo. banc 1989).

As to Exhibit X as well as Exhibit Y, the Commission finds there was insufficient foundation for the admission of these two exhibits into evidence and the objections thereto are sustained. The Commission did not rely on either Exhibit X

Full decision text continues in the plain-text archive copy.

Related Decisions

affirmed

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Theresa Thompson for a low back injury sustained on July 20, 2010 while lifting and shelving copper coils. The claimant was entitled to temporary total disability benefits, permanent partial disability compensation, and medical aid totaling over $223,000, with additional underpayment and back pay amounts owed.

back12,259 words

Brown v. Noranda Aluminum, Inc.(2023)

February 3, 2023#16-027102

affirmed

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award granting permanent total disability compensation to Donald Brown for his work-related injuries to his back and left elbow. The Commission rejected the Second Injury Fund's argument that an anxiety disability should be considered in the PTD determination, finding that non-qualifying psychiatric disabilities need not be factored into the analysis.

back7,339 words

The Commission modified the ALJ's award to allow compensation for unpaid past medical expenses for employee Rodney Battles, who sustained a work-related back injury on October 5, 2016, requiring two back surgeries. The decision clarifies that an employer's duty to provide statutorily-required medical aid is absolute and unqualified under Missouri workers' compensation law.

back6,444 words

Gourley v. Cox Medical Center(2021)

December 15, 2021#07-031701

affirmed

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Carol Gourley's injury sustained on January 13, 2007 at Cox Medical Center. One commissioner dissented, arguing the ALJ erred in denying payment for unpaid medical bills ($173,896.25) and temporary total disability benefits ($109,574.64) related to the compensable 2007 injury.

back12,971 words

Comer v. Central Programs, Inc.(2021)

August 11, 2021#16-085212

affirmed

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent total disability compensation, finding the employee's November 1, 2016 back injury combined with qualifying preexisting disabilities met statutory requirements for Second Injury Fund liability. The employee's preexisting lower left extremity and thoracic disabilities, each exceeding fifty weeks of permanent partial disability, directly aggravated and accelerated the primary work-related back injury resulting in permanent total disability.

back14,532 words