Denver Worker's Compensation Info: February 2015

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

TN Supreme Court Affirms Disability Award for Employee with High-Frequency Hearing Loss

Nashville, Tn (WorkersCompensation.com) - The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that an employee is entitled to the full amount of workers’ compensation benefits awarded to him by a trial court.

In 2009, Orville Lambdin retired from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company where he had worked as a tire builder for over 35 years. He later sought workers’ compensation benefits based upon his loss of hearing. At trial, Lambdin testified that he had difficulty hearing the television and car radio, that he could not hear normal conversations if he was surrounded by background noise, and that he experienced ringing in his ears. Expert medical testimony established that Lambdin’s hearing loss was caused by the noisy work environment at Goodyear.

The trial court initially awarded Lambdin 10% permanent partial disability benefits based upon a .9% anatomical impairment rating. After Lambdin asked the trial court to reconsider its ruling, the trial court increased the award to 30% disability benefits based upon a 20% impairment rating. The discrepancy in the two impairment ratings was a result of measuring Lambdin's hearing losses at different sound frequencies. Goodyear appealed, arguing that the trial court should not have considered evidence of the higher impairment rating as a basis for the increased award of benefits.

The Supreme Court affirmed the amended award for 30% disability benefits. The Court pointed out that the type of high-frequency, noise-induced hearing loss suffered by Lambdin was not covered by the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, but that expert testimony had established an appropriate alternative method for calculating such high-frequency losses. Because the evidence clearly supported the trial court’s findings that Lambdin suffered a hearing impairment and expert testimony established the higher rating, the Supreme Court ruled that the trial court had properly increased Lambdin’s award of benefits to 30% permanent partial disability.

Original Source

Contact the Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. today if you have a workers' compensation or a Social Security disability case.

http://www.otoole-sbarbaro.com

Phone: 303-595-4777

We are located in the Denver Metro area.

226 West 12th Avenue Denver, Colorado 80204

Disclaimer

Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Workers' Comp Info - Failure to Provide List of Two Doctors

Failure to Provide List of Two Doctors:

Under § 8-43-404(5)(a), C.R.S., the employer or insurer is afforded the right in the

first instance to select a physician to treat the injury. The statute requires the employer or

insurer to “provide a list of at least two physicians, … in the first instance, from which list an

injured employee may select the physician who attends said injured employee.” Similarly,

Workers’ Compensation Rules of Procedure, Rule 8-2(A), 7 Code Colo. Reg. 11-01-3, states

that “[w]hen an employer has notice of an on the job injury, the employer or insurer shall

provide the injured worker with a written list . . ..” In order to maintain the right to designate

a provider in the first instance, the employer has an obligation to name the treating physician

forthwith upon receiving notice of the compensable injury. See Rogers v. Industrial Claim

Appeals Office, 746 P.2d 545 (Colo. App. 1987). The failure to tender the “services of a

physician … at the time of injury” gives the employee “the right to select a physician or

chiropractor.” The employer’s duty to designate is triggered once the employer or insurer

has some knowledge of facts that would lead a reasonably conscientious manager to belief

the case may involve a claim for compensation. Bunch v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office,

148 P.3d 381 (Colo. App. 2006); Jones v. Adolph Coors Co., 689 P.2d 681 (Colo. App.

Original Source: From the archives of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C.