A worker for a concrete company is entitled to temporary disability and some medical care following an incident in which plywood and metal forms fell on his leg, fracturing his femur, which a doctor that same day found to be cancerous and likely the cause of such a "complex" fracture, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims ruled Wednesday.
Following the accident in April, Thaddeus Forrest was taken to the hospital, where medical staff noticed "a suspicious lesion on imaging and called for an orthopedic surgeon specializing in orthopedic oncology. The oncologist diagnosed him with "pathological fracture of femur due to neoplastic disease" and two other physicians also noted that the femur fracture was likely due to cancer, according to Forrest, Thaddeau v. Concrete Structures, Inc.
The day after the accident, the oncologist surgically repaired Mr. Forrest's leg. Concrete Structures denied that Mr. Forrest is entitled to any benefits due to a cancer diagnosis that reduced the strength of his femur. The company relied on clinical records that "consistently documented that the fracture occurred through an area of abnormal, weakened bone due to an underlying neoplastic process. In such cases, pathologic fractures occur in bones structurally compromised by malignancy, where minimal or even no trauma can result in fracture. Were it not for the neoplastic disease, it is unlikely that the reported mechanical trauma alone would have resulted in such a complex femoral shaft fracture."
The compensation court, in expedited proceedings, ruled in favor of Mr. Forrest, writing that the oncologist said he needed the treatment to ensure proper healing of the femur, which the court determined was an incident related to work.
"While Mr. Forrest would likely have needed treatment for myeloma even if the work accident had not occurred, this likelihood is immaterial because he did fracture his femur at work. Logically, had Mr. Forrest not broken his femur at work, the oncological treatment would not be needed to ensure healing," the ruling states.
Due to the connection between healing from the work injury and cancer, the court ordered Concrete Solutions to provide a panel of oncologists, along with covering temporary disability, in which the court said Mr. Forrest satisfied the legal test for disability: ""an employee must establish: (1) that he or she became disabled from working due to a compensable injury; (2) that there is a causal connection between the injury and the inability to work; and (3) the duration of the period of disability."
The court denied attorney's fees, which it says only applies in "limited" cases, of which Mr. Forrest's claim did not apply.