Gifford v. Cook-Mccann Concrete

James L. Gifford, a cement finisher for Cook-McCann, while helping to level cement on August 11, 1972, became breathless and dizzy but, limiting his activities, stayed on his job the remainder of the day. The next day he contacted a physician, who later testified: "`Examination and chest X-rays resulted in a diagnosis of left pneumothorax (collapsed lung) due to a ruptured bleb of pulmonary emphysema." Claimant, after receiving some treatment in the hospital, returned home but was later readmitted and submitted to surgery. Temporary total workmens compensation benefits, as well as medical expenses, were paid to him until the entering of the order from which the present appeal is taken. That order was the result of an objection by the employer, the hearing on which was held November 8, 1973. The only medical evidence was that of the attending physician, who on direct examination testified that claimant was 100 percent disabled as far as cement finishing or other heavy physical labor was concerned but was not disabled to perform sedentary work. No other witness testified concerning the extent of the disability, and of course, resolution of the percentage to which the claimant was entitled required amplification or correlation of the factors which the witness had mentioned. Little was done in this regard by counsel, and the court during the latter part of the testimony undertook to elicit from the doctor an estimate about the disability of the claimant as "a whole man." The doctor responded that he did not understand the meaning of the question. There followed considerable colloquy during which he testified, "until such time as he is trained and undertaking work of the type I have described [sedentary or mental], I would estimate his disability as a whole man at seventy-five to eighty percent." After further discussion the witness said, "Judge, I just dont understand the statutes relative to disability for heavy labor vs. disability for sedentary work well enough if there are such statutes."