DADE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, INC. AND CHUBB GROUP OF INSURANCE COMPANIES, APPELLANTS,
v.
ORESTES LAZO AND DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1982-08-18
No. AI-24
LARRY G. SMITH and JOANOS, JJ., concur.
418 So. 2d 393 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1982) Caution
Cited by 10 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed a workers' compensation order awarding benefits to a claimant who claimed an on-the-job anginal episode aggravated his pre-existing coronary artery disease and necessitated bypass surgery. The court found insufficient medical evidence to establish a causal connection between the alleged industrial accident and the subsequent surgery, as the claimant's condition was caused by pre-existing severe heart disease.


Holding

The court reversed, holding that the claimant's bypass surgery and resulting disability were caused by pre-existing severe and symptomatic coronary heart disease, not by the alleged industrial accident. The only medical evidence supporting causation came from Dr. Gilbert, whose opinion was based on hypothetical facts unsupported by the record and therefore did not constitute substantial competent evidence.


Headnotes

[1] A claimant's pre-existing condition is not compensable under workers' compensation if it is not aggravated by unusual stress not routine to the job.

[2] Medical opinions based on hypothetical questions containing facts not supported by the record do not constitute substantial, competent evidence of causation.

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Key Quotes

“The competent medical evidence in this case clearly demonstrates that claimant's bypass surgery and disability related thereto were caused by pre-existing severe and symptomatic congestive heart disease, and that claimant's October 6, 1979 angina was nothing more than a transitory manifestation of the underlying disease, which resolved itself without residual effect on claimant's heart condition.”

Establishes the court's finding that the surgery resulted from pre-existing disease, not the industrial accident

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Facts & Procedural History

On October 6, 1979, claimant experienced chest pain while moving mattresses at an apartment complex. He sought treatment and was hospitalized on Octob…

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Opinion of the Court
THOMPSON, Judge.

THOMPSON, Judge.

The employer/carrier (E/C) appeal a workers’ compensation order, contending, inter alia, that the deputy commissioner (deputy) erred in finding that claimant’s pre-existing coronary artery disease was aggravated by unusual stress not routine to his job, and in finding a causal connection between the aggravation of the pre-existing disease and the necessity for subsequent coronary bypass surgery. We reverse.

On October 6, 1979, the claimant carried two mattresses from a storeroom in an apartment complex to the apartment of one of the employer’s tenants. The claimant testified that while he was in the process of moving the second mattress, he experienced an episode of severe chest pain which lasted for approximately half an hour. According to the claimant, he immediately sought treatment from Dr. Lazo, who told him that his condition would require hospitalization.

However, Dr. Lazo’s records show that claimant was seen on October 5, 1979, the day before the alleged industrial accident, and include no indication that claimant was seen on October 6. In any event, it is uncontradicted that claimant did not enter American Hospital until October 8, and that he was completely asymptomatic when admitted.

On October 11, 1979 claimant underwent a coronary angiogram, which resulted in a diagnosis of severe coronary arteriosclerosis and a recommendation that bypass surgery be performed. Claimant was admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital on October 22 for aortocoronary bypass surgery which was performed on October 24. The claimant remained pain free and asymptomatic at the time of his admission to Mt. Sinai.

Although the claimant testified both on deposition and at the hearing that he had been in perfect health prior to October 6, 1979; and had never before experienced chest pains or other symptoms of heart disease, this testimony was conclusively refuted by medical records indicating that claimant had a long history of chest pain and other anginal symptoms. Claimant’s treating cardiologists found evidence that he had suffered a small myocardial infarction, but determined that the infarction had occurred prior to the date of the alleged accident. The only medical evidence tending to establish that there was any relationship between the alleged industrial accident and the necessity for bypass surgery was the testimony of Dr. Gilbert, who was not a cardiologist, and who saw claimant on only one occasion some 11 months after the alleged accident. Dr. Gilbert’s opinion as to causation was based on a hypothetical question which included “facts” which have no support in the record.

Accordingly, his opinion does not constitute substantial, competent evidence as to causation and the deputy erred in relying thereon. D’Avila, Inc. v. Mesa, 381 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980); Tallahassee Coca Cola Bottling Co. v. Parramore, 395 So. 2d 275, 276 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).

The competent medical evidence in this case clearly demonstrates that claimant’s bypass surgery and disability related thereto were caused by pre-existing severe and symptomatic congestive heart disease, and that claimant’s October 6, 1979 angina was nothing more than a transitory manifestation of the underlying disease, which resolved itself without residual effect on claimant’s heart condition. Here, unlike the situation presented in Nationwide Utilities, Inc. v. Hord, IRC Order 2-3746 (March 23, 1979), cert. den. 381 So. 2d 768 (Fla.1980), there was no evidence that claimant’s heart condition was rendered unstable or was otherwise aggravated by the angina.

We are aware that under the rule of Victor Wine & Liquor, Inc. v. Beasley, 141 So. 2d 581 (Fla.1962), a simple anginal episode without sequelae will nevertheless be compensable if the anginal episode itself causes disability or necessitates medical treatment. Sears Roebuck & Co. v. Weston, IRC Order 2-3730 (March 8, 1979). Here, the evidence shows that claimant entered American Hospital for diagnostic studies based on his doctor’s recommendation made prior to the date of the alleged industrial accident. Under these circumstances, it cannot be said that the medical treatment and disability which commenced on October 8, 1979 resulted from the anginal episode of October 6, 1979. The order is REVERSED.

LARRY G. SMITH and JOANOS, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Sabre Marine & Iowa Nat'l Mut. Ins. Co. v. Feliciano, 461 So. 2d 985 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
    …himself subsequently testified were relevant to the question of causation. An expert’s opinion which is [*988] based on an incorrect or incomplete hypothetical cannot constitute competent substantial evidence. Dade Property Management Inc. v. Lazo, 418 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Tallahassee Coca-Cola Bottling Company v. Parramore, 395 So. 2d 275 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). For the foregoing reasons, the order on appeal must be, and hereby is, REVERSED. BOOTH and SMITH, JJ., concur.…
  • Leonard Elec. Co. & Gen. Accident Ins. v. Erskine, 634 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
    …he had drawn. Thus, the assumptions made by Dr. Rodriguez have a specific factual basis in the record. The nature of the hypothetical questions addressed to Dr. Rodriguez distinguishes the case sub judice from Dade Property Management, Inc. v. Lazo, 418 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), in which a doctor’s opinion as to causation, based on a hypothetical question including “facts” not supported in the record, was held not to be competent substantial evidence as to causation. Dr. Rodriguez opined that the extrus…
  • …ausal relationship between the accident and the neck injury, his testimony would not be competent substantial evidence because it was based on erroneous assumptions and facts not supported by the evidence. See Dade Property Management, Inc. v. Lazo, 418 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), and D’Avila, Inc. v. Mesa, 381 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 1st DCA), pet. for rev. den., 389 So. 2d 1113 (Fla. 1980). Accordingly, the finding that the neck complaints were causally connected to the industrial accident and the requirement…

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