William Franlkin Flanagan v Northwest Airline etal

Annotate this Case

Download PDF

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA Present: Judges Baker, Bray and Fitzpatrick Argued at Alexandria, Virginia WILLIAM FRANKLIN FLANAGAN v. Record No. 2316-94-4 NORTHWEST AIRLINES AND AMERICAN MOTORISTS INSURANCE COMPANY MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY JUDGE JOHANNA L. FITZPATRICK MAY 2, 1995 FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION Kathleen G. Walsh (Ashcraft & Gerel, on brief), for appellant. Michael L. Zimmerman (Brault, Palmer, Grove, Zimmerman, White & Mims, on brief), for appellees. William Franklin Flanagan (claimant) appeals the commission's decision denying his application for temporary total disability benefits. He argues that the commission erred in finding that he did not sustain an injury by accident resulting from an identifiable incident. We affirm the commission. On August 19, 1993, claimant was performing his job of loading and unloading baggage and freight for Northwest Airlines (employer). For a fifteen to twenty minute period, claimant worked on his knees in an aircraft cargo hold with freight weighing 300 pounds. When claimant climbed down from the plane, he felt discomfort and noticed swelling in his right knee. Claimant sought medical treatment on August 30, 1993, from Dr. Robert Dart and told Dr. Dart that his knee had been swelling for the last three weeks. * Dr. Dart's records indicate that there Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not designated for publication. was no "specific history of injury to the right knee." Claimant underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on September 21, 1993. In a May 20, 1994 letter, Dr. Dart notified claimant's counsel that: "I am unable to state that his torn meniscus was related to the injury you describe. However, if the facts are as you have stated, such an injury to the meniscus could have occurred." The commission found that claimant failed to prove an injury by accident because the evidence failed to establish a specific, identifiable incident that caused his injury. On appeal, "we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party." R.G. Moore Bldg. Corp. v. Mullins, 10 Va. App. 211, 212, 390 S.E.2d 788, 788 (1990). "An injury by accident requires an 'identifiable incident, or a sudden precipitating event . . . bounded with rigid temporal precision [resulting in a] sudden mechanical or structural change in the body.'" Richard E. Brown, Inc. v. Caporaletti, 12 Va. App. 242, 243, 402 S.E.2d 709, 710 (1991) (quoting Morris v. Morris, 238 Va. 578, 589, 385 S.E.2d 858, 865 (1989)). The identifiable incident must occur "within a 'reasonably definite time.'" Id. at 244, 402 S.E.2d at 710 (quoting Morris, 238 Va. at 589, 385 S.E.2d at 864). The evidence in the record does not establish an injury by accident. Claimant alleges the injury occurred on August 19, 1993, either as he was kneeling in the cargo hold or after he 2 straightened up from the kneeling position. However, on August 30, 1993, claimant told Dr. Dart that he had experienced swelling in his knee for the past three weeks. Claimant failed to prove that his knee injury resulted from an identifiable incident. Additionally, claimant's situation is distinguishable from that of Caporaletti, in that the claimant in that case suffered a sudden injury when he straightened after installing a furnace in a bent position over a period of five minutes. 244, 402 S.E.2d at 710. 12 Va. App. at However, in this case, Dr. Dart was unable to relate claimant's injury to the identifiable incident alleged by claimant. Accordingly, the decision of the commission is affirmed. Affirmed. 3

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.