$175,000 PA Workers’ Comp Settlement for Back Injury

Case Study

March 25, 2016

An employee from Lebanon, PA, working at a call center for CNA Financial Corporation, sustained a work injury described as “neck, low back, wrist, low back surgery” in August 2011, which the insurance carrier, CNA Claim Plus, accepted. The insurance carrier filed a Termination Petition in April 2013 alleging that the injured worker was fully recovered from her work injury based upon the IME opinion of Dr. S. Ross Noble. We filed a prospective Utilization Review Request regarding the proposed surgical implantation of a neurostimulator to the injured workers’ low back. The UR was found unreasonable and we filed a Petition for Review of the UR Determination Petition. The employee continued to receive wage loss benefits during litigation. The case ultimately settled for $175,000 via a compromise and release.