Mr. John Sperino testified on his own behalf at the hearing of this matter. Mr. Sperino was born on October 27, 1965 and currently resides in Bloomfield, Missouri. Mr. Sperino is not currently employed.
On August 3, 2000, Mr. Sperino was an employee of Rick Shipman Construction. At that time, he was working at a Wal-Mart in Tennessee. His work included hanging metal doors, concrete work, and erecting steel fencing.
On August 3, 2000, Mr. Sperino was injured while hanging a metal door. Mr. Sperino and a coworker were attempting to hang a metal door that weighed several hundred pounds. They bent down to pick up the door and were walking with it when the co-worker dropped his end. Mr. Sperino tried to hold up his end of the door but failed to do so. Mr. Sperino slipped on the floor and the door fell on him.
Mr. Sperino reported the incident to Rick Shipman and advised that his back was hurting. He was referred to a neurosurgeon that performed a surgery. There were complications associated with this procedure including a spinal leak. Dr. Park performed a follow up surgery which provided little relief. A third surgery was performed by Dr. Robson. Mr. Sperino continued to complain of pain after this third procedure but he was released at maximum medical improvement and referred to Dr. Feinberg for pain management. Mr. Sperino continues to see Dr. Feinberg. Dr. Feinberg administers trigger point injections and medication. Mr. Sperino sees Dr. Feinberg once a month.
Mr. Sperino suffered from numerous prior injuries. In 1982, he was involved in a motor vehicle accident which resulted in injuries to his back, hip, left femur, pelvis and broken ribs. Surgery was performed on his femur which included internal fixation. Mr. Sperino suffered a back injury in the early 90s. He was injured when jumping out of a truck and landing wrong. A fusion was performed in 1991 due to this injury. Several follow up procedures were performed.
Mr. Sperino recalls settling his 1991 back injury for 30-35\% of the body as a whole. In 1993, he injured his left knee when falling onto a chunk of concrete. In 1998, he injured his right knee. He believes he had surgery on his right knee. In 2003, Mr. Sperino experienced significant hip pain. At the time of the hearing of this matter, he had no complaints regarding his hip.
At the time of Mr. Sperino's August 3, 2000 injury, he was performing duties as a supervisor. He was made supervisor approximately one to one and a half years after starting with the employer. As a supervisor, Mr. Sperino had to keep up with timesheets, order supplies, make sure people were where they needed to be and perform the duties of a general laborer. Mr. Sperino estimated that 50 % of his time was devoted to supervising and 50 % to laboring.
Mr. Sperino resides with his wife and two daughters, ages 6 and 8, and a stepson, age 17. He spends the majority of his day in a recliner or on the couch. He testified that he sleeps approximately two hours per night. His sleeping habits are very irregular. He watches a significant amount of television and spends time on the computer at home. He is able to assist with light household duties including dishes and taking out the trash. He reports that he can walk for approximately fifteen minutes at a time. He further reports that he cannot sit for longer than one hour. He has additional discomfort when the weather turns cold.
Prior to August 3, 2000, Mr. Sperino experienced periodic back pain due to his previous back injury. He treated this pain with over-the-counter medication. He also had difficulty with his knees that required similar treatment. He testified that he was able to shift his focus to supervisory duties when he was having pain.
On cross examination, Mr. Sperino testified that he started as a general laborer and worked his way up to supervisor. He was never disciplined or demoted for missing work and was generally a good employee. Mr. Sperino worked full time with frequent overtime. He esti