July 09, 2007 : Richard K. Tavani Prevails in Workers' Compensation Claims
Richard K. Tavani, a partner in the Firm’s Cherry Hill office, recently prevailed in two workers’ compensation matters on behalf of his clients. The first matter involved a claim of an aggravation of multiple sclerosis by stress/harassment in the workplace. After a trial involving production of four lay witnesses and three medical doctors, Judge Lake concluded that petitioner did not meet his burden of proof to establish an objectively stressful work environment. He also found that petitioner did not sustain his burden of proof to show that his pre-existing MS was aggravated on a permanent basis by the alleged stress, allegedly attributable to work. Moreover, Judge Lake opined that petitioner’s medical expert could not say whether the damage to the petitioner’s nervous system by the MS was caused by the underlying condition itself or by the alleged stress at work.
In the second case, the petitioner sustained injuries in a fall from the roof of the home of Mr. Tavani’s client, who was the owner of a roofing company. The petitioner maintained at the time of the incident he was working for owner individually, and not for the company. The court bifurcated trial of the case on the employment issue; specifically, who was the petitioner employer at the time of the admitted event. After the testimony of the petitioner and the owner, the court concluded that the petitioner was working in the scope and course of his employment for the company and dismissed the case against the owner.
File Under: Results, Workers' Compensation, Richard K. Tavani