TT&H Attorneys Marc Aoun and Cailey Farinaro Receive Favorable Decision on Claim Petition

Marc Aoun and Cailey Farinaro of TT&H’s Allentown, PA office successfully defended a Claim Petition alleging work injuries in the nature of a shoulder strain/sprain and rotator cuff tear requiring surgery by convincing the Judge that at most, the Claimant sustained a sprain/strain from which he had fully recovered as of the IME. The TT&H attorneys persuaded the Judge that the tear requiring surgery was pre-existing and not related to the work incident. The Judge agreed with the Defendant’s expert’s opinion that the mechanism of injury as explained by the Claimant under oath simply could not have caused the alleged tear that required surgery.

The Judge highlighted that the Claimant worked for the Employer for sixteen years performing heavy-duty work. Nonetheless, the TT&H attorneys articulated numerous credibility issues with the Claimant. Namely, the Claimant admitted to having driven over five hours the day after the incident for an ATV trip before reporting the work injury. The Claimant also participated in numerous physically-intensive excursions during the pendency of his Claim. If the Claimant had won and undergone surgery, the carrier’s indemnity and medical exposure would have been high. However, as a result of the successful defense, the exposure was limited to just thirteen days of indemnity exposure and minimal medical bills, excluding surgical bills.

Questions about this case can be directed to Marc Aoun at 610.332.7006 or maoun@tthlaw.com or to Cailey Farinaro 610.332.7008 or cfarinaro@tthlaw.com.