Hartley v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.
Hartley v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.
Opinion of the Court
Where, upon an application by the employee for a determination of a change in condition resulting from an alleged re-injury, the board found that there had been no compensable re-injury or change in condition, which finding was supported by the evidence, the employee then filed an original application for compensation based upon the same occurrence, a denial of compensation upon application of the doctrine of res judicata was authorized.
Claimant suffered a back injury October 2, 1963, when some heavy bundles of formica fell on him. He was referred to a doctor for treatment and compensation was paid on a
An application was filed by the employee seeking a determination by the board that a change in condition had resulted from his claimed injury of Friday, June 19. Hearing was had on the application. Claimant testified that he had suffered a re-injury of his back in lifting a heavy showcase from a truck during the afternoon of June 19, and that although he had said nothing to his employer about it until after he was discharged the following Tuesday, he had gone on Monday to Grady Hospital for treatment. He testified: “It is the same hurt—-not a different part of my back—it was in my hip down there—lower hip the last time I was hurt. I was already having trouble with it. It is the same identical injury.” Dr. Davis, who had treated the employee after the original injury, saw and examined him July 1, 1964, some twelve days after the alleged re-injury, doing a complete physical, and he testified, quoting from the record, that he had not been able to find any “neurological deficits”; that all “reflexes and cranal nerves were intact, all cutaneous incisions present and equal, all deep tendon reflexes present and equal, all superficial skin reflexes present and equal”; that forward flexion of the spine and lateral flexion of the spine, both to the left and right were full and equal and there was no limitation of motion or pain; that the electrocardigraphic tracing was normal; the blood count was within normal limits and the urinalysis was normal; the x-rays revealed no evidence of any bone disease, fracture or dislocation or abnormalities and no evidence was found of any
As to whether his back was any worse following the alleged incident of June 19, claimant testified that he had experienced discomfort with his back all along from the time he returned to work in December following the accident of October 2, 1963, and that he was actually having less discomfort at the time of the hearing than he had experienced while he worked from December to June.
The deputy director found that the claimant had not incurred any compensable injury on June 19, that there had been no change in his condition since returning to work in December, 1963, and that he was not entitled to compensation. On appeal to the full board the deputy director’s findings and award were adopted, with one member dissenting.
Claimant also filed an original claim for compensation based upon the alleged incident of June 19, 1964 and the board denied the claim, applying the doctrine of res judicata.
The awards were affirmed on appeal to the superior court, and from its judgments claimant appeals.
Judgments affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.