The Freibott Law Firm was recently successful in prosecuting a case on behalf of one of its clients who was seeking mental health treatment from her psychologist due to a work incident. Our client was a 48 year old woman with two children who was assaulted at work by an unstable patient at the Rockford Center. Our client was walking in the parking lot, toward her car, when the patient ran up from behind our client and started punching and hitting her in the left side of her neck and back, striking her 15-20 times. Throughout the assault, the patient repeatedly said that she was going to kill our client. Lay witnesses testified on behalf of our client to the effect that our client was a very good mother to her children and a very nice, respectful person. One of the lay persons described our client as “the light in a dark room who had amazing energy.” She enjoyed going out and socializing and was not aware of any prior mental disability problems in the past. Since the attack, our client has suffered from sleeping problems; panic attacks; loss of appetite; bouts of crying; and became very anti-social. Our client began treating with her treating psychologist, Dr. Tatum-Fairfax, who diagnosed our client as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the attack. The worker’s compensation insurance company denied the payment of the treatment because it alleged the treatment was not reasonable, necessary, or related to the incident. The defense medical expert, Dr. Langan, acknowledged, that symptoms of increased anxiety, flashbacks, pain, feelings of helplessness, and uncontrolled crying can be associated with PTSD, but they also can be associated with a major depression. Dr. Langan admitted on cross-examination “Certainly, if a person is assaulted, there is a degree of stress that results from that.” He conceded that our client may have depression but did not think her symptoms resulted to the level of PTSD. He further admitted on cross-examination that there was no prior record of any psychological history. Accordingly, the Industrial Accident Board found in our client’s favor and found that our client’s doctor, Dr. Tatum-Fairfax, was the more credible of the experts. The IndustrialAccident Board ordered the worker’s compensation insurance company to pay for the psychological treatment. The Industrial Accident Board also ordered the worker’s compensation insurance company to pay for Dr. Tatum-Fairfax’s expert fee for testifying and to pay an attorney’s fee. (Agard v. Recovery Innovations, Inc.,Hearing No.: 1427335Date of Decision: August 16, 2016)
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