The Freibott Law Firm was recently successful in prosecuting a claim on behalf of one of its clients wherein the claimant alleged that he was injured much more severely than the employer believed and that he was entitled to more worker’s compensation benefits than what had been offered. Our client was injured when a sofa bed, weighing 225 lbs.,fell down on him. The claimant complained of injuries to his back, left knee, leg, and left wrist and went to the emergency room. The claimant’s left knee was the most immediate of the injuries as he needed surgery to his left knee when his orthopaedic surgeon performed a partial lateral meniscectomy,chondroplasty lateral femoral condyle and an anterior synovectomywith excision of theanteromedialplica. That surgery was performed just under two (2) months after date of the injury.
The claimant had been also complaining about his low back to his treating physician who documented low back pain and problems with pain radiating down his leg. After surgery to the knee, the claimant underwent an MRI of his low back which confirmed an L5-S1 central anterior tear with a small broad based central disc herniation pressing on the fecal sac. The claimant sought further treatment with other providers. The employer, through its insurance company, failed to acknowledge the low back injury and denied that any period of disability or medical treatment to the low back was related to the original work accident.
The Industrial Accident Board relied upon claimant’s treating expert and, once again, found that the employer’s medical expert, Dr. Gelman, was not credible in his explanation as to why he believed there was no causal relationship between the back injury to the work injury. The Industrial Accident Board found that there was a causal relationship between the work injury to the back injury; ordered the employer to pay total disability benefits from June 13, 2012 through July 10, 2012 and from September 25, 2012 through April 5, 2013. The Industrial Accident Board also ordered the employer to pay for our client’s outstanding medical expenses and further awarded the employer to pay for claimant’s medical expert’s fee for testifying and ordered the employer to pay for the claimant’s attorney’s fees for the hearing. (Richardson v. La-Z-Boy, Hearing No.: 1379194, Order date of July 8, 2013)