Thomas, Thomas & Hafer Attorney Regina Parker Wins Termination of Benefits and Denial of Claimant’s Review Petition

Regina Parker, Partner in the TT&H Philadelphia office obtained a highly favorable WC decision for one of our clients. Claimant was receiving ongoing disability and medical benefits for a work-related injury. Regina was successful in convincing the WCJ to terminate both indemnity and medical benefits dating back to February 2023. Claimant’s Review Petition to expand the injury description was also denied. The Employer is expected to receive a significant reimbursement from the supersedeas fund. The Employer accepted a description of injury limited to left chest contusion. However, Claimant began receiving significant treatment for the lumbar, cervical, and thoracic spine, including nerve blocks, epidurals, spinal cord stimulator trial, and surgical consultations where spinal surgery is recommended. There were outstanding medical bills for the unaccepted conditions totaling over $200k which were denied as not causally related to the work injury. The judge concluded that Employer is not liable for these medical bills.

Via Decision circulated on November 15, 2024, The WCJ accepted the Employer’s evidence as credible and persuasive, including the testimonies offered by Dr. Arnold Baskies, Dr. Donald Leatherwood, and Mr. Ronald Lewis (employer fact witness). The judge rejected the testimonies as offered by Claimant and Dr. Dennis Ivill.

During the litigation, Claimant relied on the testimony of Dr. Ivill who testified that as a result of the work injury, Claimant sustained sprain and strain thoracic and lumbar spine, L1-2, L5-S1, T9-10, T11-12, T12-L1, C3-4, C4-5, C5-6, C6-7 disc herniations, C7-T1 disc protrusion type herniation, bilateral acute S1 radiculopathy and bilateral C6 radiculopathy. On cross examination, Regina had Dr. Ivill admit that he treated Claimant for the same or similar diagnoses prior to the work injury in 2020. However, Dr. Ivill testified that was recovered from the prior injury and had returned to work full duty w/o restrictions. Dr. Ivill opined that Claimant’s left chest pain and burning sensation are due to thoracic spine herniations. He further opined that Claimant suffers from myelomalacia at C5-6 which prevents Claimant from experiencing cervical spine pain. However, Regina artfully highlighted the inconsistency noting that Claimant testified to high levels of cervical spine pain which she rated as an 8-9/10.  Ultimately, the judge did not find Claimant credible or persuasive. The judge agreed with the Employer that Claimant’s testimony was inconsistent regarding the etiology of her back and neck symptoms. He also noted that Claimant’s testimony does not support Dr. Ivill’s medical opinions and causation.  Instead, the WCJ accepted the testimony of the Defense medical experts, Dr. Baskies that Claimant was fully recovered from the accepted chest injury and Dr. Leatherwood who offered an opinion that the neck and low back conditions were not work related.

Thanks to Regina’s efforts, the client saved avoided paying $200,000 in medical bills and can also expect significant supersedeas fund reimbursement.

For questions or more information on this case, Regina can be contacted at 267.861.7594 or at rparker@tthlaw.com.