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14 Articles/News Results for "" - Show All
- “Jason D. Conley v. Norfolk Southern Corporation” - January 11, 2011
Summary: The Decision and Order of Administrative Law Judge Alice M. Craft found that the Claimant in this case failed to give to the Employer formal timely notice of a right shoulder injury sustained in the workplace in September of 2003. The claim was therefore time-barred. The Claimant was also denied medical benefits due to his failure to produce sufficient medical evidence which would demonstrate that treatment for the claimed injury was necessary. The medical evidence produced suggested instead that the Claimant’s condition was attributable to several non-work-related accidents in which his right shoulder was injured.
By
Christopher R. Hedrick, Esq.
- “Judy Johnson, widow of Garnell Johnson, v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding” - January 20, 2011
Summary: The Claimant in this case died of cardiac arrest days after surgery for a work-related knee injury. He had a pre-existing history of deep vein thrombosis, so physicians assumed that the cardiac arrest was the result of a clot induced pulmonary embolism. An autopsy would have confirmed the assumption, but none had been performed. Pathologists rendered conflicting medical opinions as to whether a reasonable physician could conclude that the death was the result of pulmonary embolism. The Virginia Workers compensation Commission's Deputy Commissioner, and a majority of the Full Commission agreed that three causes could have resulted in the cardiac arrest and that, while pulmonary embolism was a possible cause, the evidence did not preponderate to prove that it was a more probable cause than the other two.
By
Jonathan H. Walker, Esq.
- “Carolyn Vick, widow of Allen Vick v. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding” - June 4, 2010
Summary: Defense of stress and suicide cases always poses a difficult task. Inevitably, medical records in a workers compensation case will be replete with statements about work related stress and depression. The Benefits Review Board is reluctant to apply the Marino doctrine, permitting legitimate personnel actions as a defense to stress and suicide claims. Instead, the Board presumes that if a worker has stress, and also works, the claimant has, without any more evidence than that, established a prima facie case. Thus, the battle can be won only with solid expert opinions that rebut the presumption and are worthy of greater weight by an Administrative Law Judge. In this case, the Claimant alleged her husband had committed suicide as a result of workplace stress. The defense was that the depression was a non-work-related condition and that workplace stress was simply a symptom or manifestation of the underlying depressive disorder. Expert opinions were marshaled on both sides, and the weight of the evidence prevailed for the Employer.
By
Jonathan H. Walker, Esq.
- “Jacqueline Tynes v. Newport News Shipbuilding” - April 29, 2008
Summary: The Benefits Review Board decision affirms the Decision and Order of Administrative Law Judge Krantz denying benefits a claim for temporary total disability based upon an injury to the right knee.
This case involved a causation determination, as to whether the Claimant’s surgery and following disability were attributable to her claimed work injury, or instead were the natural progression of a pre-existing knee condition. The Administrative Law Judge agreed that the claimed 2004 left knee injury did not contribute to the subsequent need for surgery and that such condition was the natural and avoidable consequence of a pre-existing condition.
By
Jonathan H. Walker, Esq.
- “Darryl Siverling v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company” - August 8, 2008
Summary: The Opinion from Deputy Commissioner Wilder in this case, denies benefits for various periods. Among the various defenses to this case, we raised the issue of whether the Claimant actually suffered an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment.
While the Claimant maintained that he was moving a specific, 140 lb. cap when he encountered a sudden pain, and while the Newport News Shipyard Clinic note appeared to support the contention of an injury by accident, the more specific history received by C. M. Lassiter, together with the history found in the treating physician’s initial evaluation supported our defense. The Deputy Commissioner found Mr. Siverling to be less credible than Mr. Lassiter.
By
Jonathan H. Walker, Esq.
- “Leon Townes v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company” - April 30, 2008
Summary: The Benefits Review Board affirmed the Decision and Order of Administrative Law Judge Bergstrom denying benefits in this claim based upon a left knee injury. The Board agreed the Administrative Law Judge rationally concluded that the left knee injury did not cause the condition of the Claimant’s right knee. Likewise, the ALJ correctly discounted the treating physician’s opinion, which was neither explained nor supported by contemporary medical treatment notes.
By
Jonathan H. Walker, Esq.
- “Edward E. Pool v. Lambert's Point Docks, Inc.” -
Summary: Psychiatric injury claim under the Longshore Act defeated even though Claimant's treating psychiatrist attributed Claimant's ongoing disability and psychiatric illness to the cumulative stress of his workplace. The Benefits Review Board affirmed based on Marino v. Navy Exch. and held that psychiatric conditions which flow from legitimate personnel actions do not give rise to compensable injuries under the Longshore Act. This reverses the Board's recent string of cases eroding the holding in Marino.
By
Christopher R. Hedrick, Esq.
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