Practice Area Category: Case Study

Our client had a previous non-work related back surgery after having left-sided symptoms. She was released by her surgeon to return to work. On her first day back; she was reaching to help a patient and felt a pop in her back followed by right-sided symptoms. We filed a Claim Petition alleging that her pre-existing problems had been aggravated by her work injury. The claimant’s treating physician testified against her, saying that the work injury was insignificant and that her problems resulted from her pre-existing, non-work related condition. He further testified that it was not unusual for a patient to have symptoms on one side and then on the other side of the body.

Our team of lawyers and our paralegal recently won a significant case in front of a Harrisburg WC Judge. The injured worker injured her right hand. The WC Insurance Company agreed to pay medical bills for the injury but refused to pay wage loss benefits. They then filed a Petition for Termination claiming that the injured worker was fully recovered and able to return to work based on a note from one of her treating doctors. We filed Claim and Penalty Petitions alleging the injured worker sustained a right-hand crush injury. We requested wage loss benefits for the injured worker and filed the Penalty Petition due to the Defendant’s violation of the WC Act.

Harry Nace (name changed for this summary) was injured when he broke his right ankle getting into his car to attend Defendant’s Christmas party/fundraiser in Wood, PA. SWIF, the workers’ compensation carrier for the employer, issued a Workers’ Compensation Denial on January 4, 2016, reporting that the injury did not occur within the scope of his employment. We subsequently filed a Claim Petition.

A Teamsters Union member from Jersey Shore, PA, working as a steward/runner/fuel truck operator for OTIS Eastern, sustained a work injury described as right shoulder strain in January 2013 which the insurance carrier, Travelers & Surety Company, accepted.

An employee from Lewisberry, PA, working as a merchandiser for a soda company, sustained a work injury accepted as a right shoulder strain/sprain in September 2014, by the insurance carrier, Indemnity Insurance Company of North America. The injured worker was treating with Steven M. DeLuca, D.O., and the insurance carrier filed a Utilization Review Request regarding his prescribing an H-Wave stimulator for the employee to use. A Utilization Review was performed which found that the H-Wave machine was not reasonable and not necessary for the injured worker’s injury.

A Union employee from Enola, PA, working as a truck driver for New England Motor Freight, sustained a work injury described as a lumbar strain in July 2011, which the insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Corporation, accepted. The IME physician reported that the injured worker’s restrictions were sitting for 8 hours with rest and standing 4 hours with rest.

A Union employee from Sunbury, PA, working as a delivery driver, sustained a work injury accepted on the Notice of Compensation Payable as a lumbar strain in August 2013, which the insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance, accepted. The insurance carrier had the injured worker attend an IME in February 2015 with Dr. DiBenedetto who reported that if the injured worker’s true diagnosis was a lumbar strain, that he was recovered from the same.

A Union employee from Bloomsburg, PA, working as a driver for a delivery company, sustained a work injury to his right shoulder in April 2012, which the insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, accepted for payment of medical benefits only as a “left upper arm sprain.” We filed a Claim Petition describing the injury as “right shoulder – torn tendons and torn rotator cuff.” The injured worker was working in a light-duty position at a loss of wages and we requested partial disability from the date of injury to the present and ongoing.

An employee from Reading, PA, working for Exide Technologies, sustained a work injury described as a left shoulder strain in November 2011 which the insurance carrier, Risk Enterprise Management, accepted. The insurance carrier filed a Modification Petition based upon results of a Labor Market Survey that had been performed.

An employee from Bowie, TX, working as a derrick worker for Basic Energy Services in Pennsylvania, sustained a work injury described as a left shoulder sprain/strain in February 2011 which the insurance carrier, Liberty Insurance Corporation, accepted via a Temporary Notice of Compensation Payable. We filed a Claim Petition and the parties later entered into a Stipulation in which it was agreed that the real description of injury was a contusion II AC separation injury to the left shoulder and agreed to a higher AWW and higher compensation rate.