A worker was injured and contracted an infection while she was being treated for her initial work injury. At issue was whether her infection was contracted because of her treatment. Initially the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation granted summary judgment to her employer, which the Court of Appeals determined was improper. A neurosurgeon at the hospital where she was being treated for her work injury testified it was possible an injection she received to treat her injury caused her infection.

Debra Lenox worked for Central Louisiana Spokes, dba Renegade Harley. One day she went to get a pair of boots for a customer and when she bent over, she felt a strange sensation. Shortly after she felt a shooting pain down her leg and pain in her back. She reported the injury to her human resources representative who told her to go to a walk-in clinic for treatment. She was diagnosed with lumbar strain and went home but the next morning she woke up in so much pain she could not get out of bed. She went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a disc protrusion at L5-S1, which pressed on the nerve and likely caused her pain. She received an epidural steroid injection and was released. She continued to suffer from pain and went back to the hospital about a week later and was diagnosed with an infection of the lumbar spine. She underwent surgery primarily to drain the infection and decompress the affected nerve.

She filed a workers’ compensation claim, alleging that she did not receive wage benefits and medical treatment was not authorized. Her claim was accepted but only up until the time she developed the spinal infection, and her employer and their insurance company said the infection was not related to the original accident. Initially a workers’ compensation judge agreed and granted summary judgment.

A physician who had consulted on her case, Dr. Dowd, testified that an epidural steroid injection could cause an infection. He said she did not have an infection when she was admitted but was exhibiting signs of an early infection when she was initially discharged. The appeals court reversed the decision granting summary judgment to her employer and their insurer and remanded it back to the Office of Workers’ Compensation.

Read the case here.