Exxon Mobil Corp. must cover the costs associated with a worker who reinjured his knee while hanging Christmas lights in his home, an appeals court in Louisiana ruled Wednesday.

Earl Alphonso V injured his left knee in a work accident in 2015 and underwent surgery to repair a dislocated kneecap and several torn tendons, according to documents in Earl Alphonso V, v. Exxon Mobil, Exxon Mobil Risk Management, Inc., filed in the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit, in New Orleans.

He underwent a second surgery in 2016 and “continued to complain of pain and instability in his left knee,” according to court documents.

In late 2017, Mr. Alphonso reportedly “re-injured his left knee at home while hanging Christmas lights when he stepped off a ladder and felt a pop in his knee,” documents state. His doctor at the time diagnosed Mr. Alphonso with “suspected re-aggravation of the injuries he sustained in his … 2015 work accident.” In 2018 he underwent “total reconstruction” surgery to repair lingering issues.

That same year Mr. Alphonso filed a disputed claim for compensation against Exxon. A trial court ruled in his favor,  finding that the 2017 injury was “a development of his original … 2015 work accident.” The ruling said the latter injury “was foreseeable” and came about “as a result” of his workplace injury.

The trial court found that Mr. Alphonso was disabled from work and awarded him eight weeks of indemnity benefits following his 2018 surgery. It also awarded him ongoing reasonable and necessary medical treatments for the injuries he sustained in 2017.

The trial court ordered Exxon to pay $6,000 for failure to authorize medical treatment, failure to pay medical expenses, and failure to pay indemnity benefits. It also awarded Mr. Alphonso attorneys fees of $7,500, among other awards.

On appeal, Exxon argued that the lower court erred in connecting the two injuries “because the first injury had long since healed and the new injury resulted from an intervening accident that was not caused by Mr. Alphonso's predisposition to re-injury.”

In affirming the trial court’s ruling, the appeals court wrote that “medical evidence supports the position that Mr. Alphonso's latest injury was related to his original work injury” and that he had “a history of continuous complaints concerning his left knee” since the workplace injury in 2015. It cited radiologist reports on problems with the knee following the 2016 surgery.

The court also reduced to $3,710 the money Exxon owed to Mr. Alphonso.