Rule 17's Time Limits
TPM attorney Ilene Feldmeier was defending against a claimant who alleged right carpal tunnel syndrome as the result of their job duties. While the job duties met the requisite force, awkward postures, and position that are required by Rule 17, they did not meet the time limits required.
In this case the claimant performed many different activities that varied throughout the day and because of this did not meet the time limits required. It is important that no admission of compensability be given until a thorough job site analysis is completed. All cumulative trauma guidelines under Rule 17 must be met for an injury to be compensable.
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If You Fail First, Try & Try Again
TPM attorney Maggie Keck recently won a hotly contested case wherein a claim for permanent partial disability, permanent total disability, and future medical benefits was denied. Judge Keith Mottram had previously found that the claimant sustained a compensable injury from a minor lifting incident at work. Much later, a DIME doctor said there had never been a work-related injury.
One of the judge's choices on the permanent total disability issue was between the Division examiner's opinion that the claimant never had never been injured, and the claimant's allegation of severe chronic disabling pain from the injury. Although the judge found the claimant's experts persuasive at the compensability hearing, he agreed with the respondents' experts at the last hearing.
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You Always Have the Right To Fight
TPM attorney
Ilene Feldmeier recently won a complex medical case for her client involving a second surgery on an admitted claim. The claimant's first surgery consisted of one level fusion and replacing the disc above it with an artificial disc. Respondents had authorized this surgery of a fusion with an artificial disc instead of a two level fusion in the hope of avoiding future surgery to the other levels. After a fusion, adjacent levels will often degrade more rapidly and require the fusion to be expanded further by additional surgery.
The claimant was now requesting a fusion be done to the level above the artificial disc. Attorney Feldmeier won her case when she successfully argued, backed by medical evidence, that the artificial disc had spared the next disc from damage and that the damage was actually due to natural deterioration caused by age. This was despite respondents previously authorizing injections to that same level. It is important to remember that Respondents always retain the right to argue whether a specific treatment is reasonable, necessary, and related to the work injury and just because a work injury has aggravated a pre-existing condition does not mean all future treatment for that condition is work-related.
