Successful Defense of National Car Company in Workers’ Compensation Litigation.

We successfully defended a national car company in a case involving the defense of a termination petition, the claimant’s petition for review of the utilization review determination, the claimant’s petition to review compensation benefit off-set, and a petition for penalties. The case involved a 2013 injury involving low back sprain/strain and an aggravation of degenerative disc disease with radiculopathy and facet arthropathy. The defense expert, a board certified orthopedic surgeon, reviewed all of the claimant’s pre- and post-injury medical records and diagnostic study films. The claimant admitted that he had increases of pain with activities not associated with work (long drives out of state, shoveling snow, housework) which he had failed to report to the IME physician or his own treating doctor. The Workers’ Compensation Judge ordered the termination of all the claimant’s benefits. The judge also dismissed the claimant’s petition to review the URO, finding the treating physician’s treatment no longer reasonable and necessary. Finally, the claimant’s penalty petition was dismissed.