A Teamster Local 764 steward and union pipeline worker from Allenwood, PA, for Otis Eastern Services, contacted us after he had sustained a back injury in September 2012. The insurance carrier, Travelers Casualty & Surety, had not accepted the claim and we filed a Claim Petition for his low back with bilateral radiculopathy work injury. The employer, in fact, had never advised the insurance carrier that the injured worker had sustained a work injury. The parties entered into a Stipulation in which it was agreed that the injured worker sustained a work injury described as “left S1 radiculopathy and aggravation of lumbar spondylosis at L5-S1 and L3-4″ and the injured worker was entitled to temporary total disability wage loss benefits for his work injury. The insurance carrier then had the injured worker attend another IME with the same physician in 2013. Dr. William P. Butler performed low back surgery with good results. Sometime later, after receiving weekly compensation checks, the case ultimately settled for $240,000 via a compromise and release.
