An employee from Harrisburg, PA, working as a porter for a car dealership in Silver Spring, sustained a work injury described as a low back strain in October 2014, which the insurance carrier, Eastern Alliance Insurance Co., accepted. The injured worker received a Notification of Suspension in March 2015 alleging that he had returned to work at earnings less than his time of injury earnings and we filed an Employee Challenge Petition. The insurance carrier than reinstated the injured worker’s wage loss benefits and the Petition was withdrawn. The insurance carrier had the injured worker attend an independent medical examination with Chad Rutter, D.O., who reported that the employee could return to modified duty work with lifting restrictions of 25 lbs. The injured worker was offered full time employment from the employer in August 2015 and he returned to work. The case ultimately settled for $117,000 via a compromise and release. Including the settlement, the injured worker received $177,277.47 in wage loss benefits and $6,045.98 in medical benefits for his work injury.
