February 26, 2007 : Shawn C. Gooden Prevails in Workers' Compensation Case
Associate Shawn C. Gooden recently prevailed in a worker’s compensation case in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Claimant sustained a work-related injury when she fell at the bottom of a flight of stairs. The injury, as confirmed by IME, was lateral epicondylitis. However, the case was defended on the premise that the Claimant was terminated (or quit) not for reasons related to her work injury, because she did not want to be subject to the new payroll policy.
Evidence was presented from the Claimant’s supervisor that Claimant quit because the employer changed its payroll policy. The new policy required the employer to hold one week’s pay rather than payment the employee for the immediate past week.
The Judge correctly cited to the prevailing case law. When an employee returns to work with a restriction, as the Claimant did, the Claimant is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that upon layoff, the wage loss is causally related to the work injury. The burden then shifts to the employer to prove that the wage loss is not related to the work injury. The judge cited to the testimony of the employer and the claimant that the claimant was terminated because she would not accept the new payroll policy in support of his finding that the employer had met its burden of rebutting the presumption of ongoing disability. Accordingly, the claimant was not awarded any ongoing indemnity benefits.
The defendant was exposed to significant ongoing indemnity exposure, as claimant was seeking ongoing indemnity benefits. As a result of this decision, the Claimant will not receive any ongoing indemnity benefits unless and until she can prove that she is entitled to a reinstatement of her indemnity benefits.
File Under: Results, Workers' Compensation, Shawn C. Gooden