Lourdes Sarmiento-Hernandez v. WCAB (Ace American Insurance Company); 1799 C.D. 2016; filed Feb. 13, 2018; by Judge Cohn-Jubelirer

Employer had a reasonable basis for its termination petition, even though employer’s medical expert questioned whether an accepted work injury occurred.

According to the Commonwealth Court, the employer presented competent medical testimony that rendered its contest reasonable. Although the IME physician did not believe the claimant suffered a work injury, he still testified that he thought the claimant had fully recovered from what he “assumed” to be a work injury. The court held that this was sufficient to satisfy the standard for presenting competent medical evidence that the claimant was fully recovered from the work injury. In addition, the court pointed out that the IME physician’s testimony that the claimant’s work played no role in exacerbating an underlying condition of the right wrist satisfied the employer’s challenge of the review petition.

 

Case Law Alerts, 2nd Quarter, April 2018

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