On 4/30/05 Mr. John Bartley was a Vice President and working manager of the Hawthorne Inn, a restaurant located in Labadie, Missouri. Mr. Bartley worked "the front of the house", and his duties included making reservations; scheduling larger parties; getting guests to their proper seating; coordinating bussers; ensuring food got to the correct tables; assisting bartenders; carrying trays of food from the kitchen weighing as much as to 30 to 35 pounds; manage the storing of beer, wine, and liquor in the kitchen; ensure proper storage of meat in a walk in refrigerator; carry up to 150 pounds of meat from cold storage to the meat table, and such items as cases of sour cream and butter weighing 30 to 40 pounds.
The claimant is 50 years old; is married to his current wife, Jane Marie; has three children for whom he no longer is providing support; is a high school graduate with some college credits; and has taken instruction and gotten certification in food safety, food handling, food temperatures, and so on, and also manages kitchen cooking, food preparation, and is responsible for all maintenance of the building and grounds.
The first thing the claimant was to do on the day of his accident was to count the money drawer at the back of the kitchen, carry it to the bar, then to the hostess stand to work on charts.
Claimant recalls that as he pushed open the swinging doors from the kitchen he slipped on ceramic tile that had been previously washed, with his left leg sliding out, resulting in an audible snap. Mr. Bartley recalls that he continued to slip, and was able to catch himself on a stack of highchairs.
Claimant recalls that he slid 10 feet; that he continued on to the bar to get the money drawer to the register; and that he felt really bad pain, like an instant jab. Claimant recalls that the onset of pain in his back and buttock was immediate and constant, and that left and right steps each caused pain in the opposing sides of the buttock muscles.
Mr. Bartley recalls that he took pain medication, as pain began to radiate into his legs. Mr. Bartley recalls that the injury occurred around 10:00 a.m. that morning, and that by 3:00 p.m., near the end of the work day, he was feeling incapable of the car ride home as he got up from sitting at a bar stool for over an hour and suffered severe pain.
Claimant recalls lying on a heating pad in bed all that night with the pain getting worse and worse. Mr. Bartley acknowledged a prior history of back pain in 1998 that came and went in the area just above the area of the more current injury at issue. Claimant recalls seeing Dr. Robson; being diagnosed as having a broken facet joint; having a fusion surgery performed in October of 1998; feeling a "pop" in the back 6 months after physical therapy; and having corrective surgery to the fusion in March of 1999.
The claimant recalls that on 5/1/05 he had a meeting with his three partners as to the feasibility of opening a second restaurant; that he attended that meeting; that he was asked why he was hobbling about; advised the partners as to where and when he slipped on the flooring; and was advised to use Blue CrossBlue Shield insurance. Mr. Bartley recalls that he requested a partner to file a report of the injury, and after the employer declined to file a report the claimant chose to file a claim for compensation on 9/19/05, roughly one month after he received no cooperation from the owners. Claimant acknowledges that he ultimately resolved his claim as against Hawthorne Inn for 12 and 1 / 2 % permanent partial disability as to the low back, with an addendum to amortize the settlement amount.
Claimant recalls seeking medical treatment by telephone call to Dr. Robson on 5/1/05, the physician who provided the prior treatment to the low back. Claimant acknowledges he gave no comment as to the nature of the injury alleged, and spoke to Dr. Robson again on 5/4/05 to complain of further pain radiating down the legs from center of the back pain at the mid buttock, feeling like an electric shock down the left leg in particular. Claimant recalls seeing Dr. Hurford on 5/09/05 and receiving an epidural injection to the sacroiliac for inflammation. Mr. Bartley notes he received some relief, with the pain returning that same evening, and returning all together the next day. Claimant recalls returning to Dr. Robson on 5/17/05, having x-rays, and was to have another injection to see if the problem was just inflammation. Mr. Bartley alleges to have had some occasional muscle spasm prior to his 4/30/05 injury, aggravating his pain but not preventing him from doing his work. Claimant relates that he had no formal weight restrictions, other than to lift only to his comfort level.
Claimant complains that after his 4/30/05 injury he suffered new symptoms of pain constant and severe, down his legs and making his toes numb. Claimant notes that he suffered more new complaints from constipation, and eventually from erectile dysfunction. Mr. Bartley alleges that pain and numbness radiating into the legs is a new complaint, and that prior to his slip a bad pain day was at level 2 or 3 with muscle spasm.
Claimant further alleges that prior to 4/30/05 his pain was higher up in the back, with leg pain and numbness relieved by surgery. Claimant alleges that after his slip his pain level reaches 8 for days, a deep and constant pain whether standing or walking. He recalls that after 5/17/05 the pain returned within hours, and he refused another pain injection until returning to see Dr. Robson on 5/24/05. Claimant relates that he had increasing pain; leg weakness; onset of severe constipation, and was obliged to walk with a cane.
Claimant recalls that in August of 2005 Dr. Robson recommended a surgery to locate nerve impingement in the back. Mr. Bartley recalls that on 10/28/05 he had s