TT&H Attorneys Jim Tinnyo and John Morgan Win Denial of Claim Petition

TT&H attorney Jim Tinnyo recently convinced a Wilkes-Barre Workers’ Compensation Judge to deny and dismiss a Claim Petition in its entirety. The claim was temporarily accepted as an ankle sprain, but it was later denied as a pre-existing flat foot condition. Through a thorough cross examination, Jim highlighted numerous inconsistencies in the claimant’s testimony. For instance, the claimant changed her testimony regarding the date she originally described as the date of injury, as well as her testimony regarding when she first notified her employer about the injury. Cross examination further revealed that the claimant lied to her medical expert regarding the availability of suitable light duty, leading the doctor to totally disable her from working.

Jim further presented testimony from two fact witnesses from the employer demonstrating that the claimant had a long history of attendance and performance issues, and had been seeking FMLA for another unrelated condition in the days and weeks leading up to and immediately after the alleged date of injury, though contemporaneous communications contained no mention of a work injury. Rather, the claimant did not advise the employer that she had sustained a work injury until she was on the verge of termination. On top of that, the witnesses from the employer each confirmed that the claimant walked with a limp the entire time she worked there.

The WCJ rejected Claimant’s testimony in its entirety, largely adopting the reasoning argued in the employer’s brief prepared by John Morgan.

Questions about this case can be directed to Jim Tinnyo at 717-237-7121 or jtinnyo@tthlaw.com or John Morgan at 267-861-7580 or jmorgan@tthlaw.com.