TT&H Attorneys Mark Powell, Jim Tinnyo, and John Morgan Win Denial of Claim and Penalty Petitions

TT&H Attorney Mark Powell recently obtained a full denial of a Claim Petition and a Penalty Petition in Harrisburg. Claimant alleged that he injured his left Achilles tendon at work, which resulted in a surgical repair and several months of total disability. However, eight days before the alleged date of injury, Claimant sent his boss a picture of his swollen left ankle neatly wrapped in an Ace bandage, and explained that he could not come to work because he had sustained an injury while playing soccer over the weekend. Claimant returned to work a few days later wearing tennis shoes instead of work boots and walking with a limp. Shortly thereafter, Claimant asserted that he sustained his left ankle injury in an unwitnessed accident.

When cross examined about the text messages by Jim Tinnyo, Claimant tried to explain that he had lied about injuring his left ankle before so he could stay home from work and take care of the same family member. Mark presented testimony and text messages showing that Employer had allowed Claimant to take off work dozens of times before no questions asked – including three times to take care of his family member. The WCJ rejected Claimant’s testimony as incredible and denied the claim in its entirety, largely adopting the reasoning in the brief and proposed findings prepared by John Morgan.

For questions about this case, please contact Mark Powell at (717) 255-7645 or mpowell@tthlaw.com, Jim Tinnyo at (717) 237-7121 or jtinnyo@tthlaw.com, or John Morgan at (267) 861-7580 or jmorgan@tthlaw.com.