June 2, 2013
Erica Carter (name changed for this summary) was employed as a Licensed Practicing Nurse on a part-time basis for Links 2 Care. She was responsible for bathing and repositioning the patients she was assigned to. Ms. Carter had just returned to work from a surgery that was not work-related on November 8, 2011, when she was injured at work. She was working with an elderly resident, and when she reached across the resident she injured her back.
Unfortunately, as the day progressed, Ms. Carter’s back pain increased and her back became tighter and tighter. In fact, when she returned home that day, her husband had to help her out of her car. Soon after she got home, her supervisor called and she told her about the back injury.
When Ms. Carter applied for workers’ compensation benefits, she was initially denied because her employer said that she had not provided notice of her injury, like Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation law requires, despite the phone call from her supervisor.
During the workers’ compensation litigation, Links 2 Care had two employees, including Ms. Carter’s supervisor, testified that Ms. Carter did not provide the required notice. Fortunately, through cross-examination, it became clear that neither of the two employees could reliably testify about whether Ms. Carter provided notice. As a result, the workers’ compensation judge chose to believe Ms. Carter over the two Links 2 Care employees.
On February 26, 2013, the workers’ compensation judge awarded Ms. Carter with past on future total disability benefits and ordered Links 2 Care to pay Ms. Carter’s cost of litigation.
