Thanks for visiting! Welcome to a new way to research case law. You are viewing a free summary from Descrybe.ai. For citation and good law / bad law checking, legal issue analysis, and other advanced tools, explore our Legal Research Toolkit — not free, but close.
Broadway v. Cade Wood, Inc.
Citations: 583 So. 2d 153; 1991 La. App. LEXIS 2089; 1991 WL 130227Docket: No. 90-242
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal; July 16, 1991; Louisiana; State Appellate Court
Plaintiff Kevin Broadway appeals the trial court's denial of his worker’s compensation claim following a leg fracture sustained on January 21, 1988, while employed by Cade Wood, Inc. After receiving compensation for 32 weeks, he returned to work but now has a leg length discrepancy, with his left leg shorter by approximately ⅜ inch. The appeal centers on whether this condition qualifies as a serious and permanent disfigurement under La.R.S. 23:1221(4)(p). The statute allows for compensation related to permanent partial disability for serious and permanent disfigurements, with specific provisions for anatomical loss or significant impairment in certain bodily functions. Broadway cites Landry v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Jenkins v. Orleans Parish School Board to support his claim. In Landry, the loss of an eye was deemed compensable despite the use of a prosthesis, as disfigurement is assessed through the individual's experience rather than public perception. Similarly, Jenkins involved the loss of teeth, where the court ruled that the presence of a dental bridge did not negate compensability due to the permanent loss of function and disfigurement. The judge acknowledges that the availability of a heel lift to address Broadway's leg length difference does not impact the assessment of disfigurement. The focus remains solely on whether the leg length difference constitutes a compensable disfigurement. Ultimately, the trial court's judgment denying compensation benefits is affirmed. Compensation under La.R.S. 23:1221(4)(p) is restricted to serious and permanent disfigurement, a term not defined in the Louisiana worker’s compensation act or relevant case law. In other jurisdictions, disfigurement is characterized as impairing someone's beauty or appearance. Serious disfigurement substantially detracts from a person's appearance. Testimonies indicated that the plaintiff, Mr. Broadway, walks with a limp due to a slight leg length difference, measured at approximately 7/8 of an inch, although this measurement may be inaccurate due to the plaintiff's obesity. An orthopedic surgeon did not assign any disability percentage to the plaintiff. The trial court asserted that Mr. Broadway's injury does not qualify as serious disfigurement as defined by prior cases, noting that his condition is not an obvious disfigurement like those in the Jenkins and Landry cases. The court concluded that Mr. Broadway does not suffer from a scarred or disfigured state and therefore is not entitled to benefits under the statute. The appellate court affirmed this conclusion, finding no clear error in the trial court's judgment. Costs of the appeal are assigned to the appellant.