February 19, 2012
Employee BT, a resident of York County, suffered a work-related repetitive stress injury to both hands and wrists while employed by Harley Davidson as an electrician. He hired us as his workers’ compensation lawyers and we filed a Pennsylvania (PA) Workers’ Compensation Claim Petition on behalf of the injured worker.
His previous job duties included using a buffer/polisher for the first year he was employed by Harley Davidson. He began to have problems with his hands during that time and the hand problems continued with his electrician position. His work duties include lifting 25 to 75 pounds and working with tools such as drill motors and hammer drills and he testified that he has experienced the hand symptoms since he began working for Harley Davidson and that they have been getting progressively worse.
Dr. Peter J. VanGiesen treated him with anti-inflammatory agents, bracing and cortisone injections. These treatments provided the Claimant with temporary relief. Dr. Peter J. VanGiesen reviewed an MRI of the Claimant’s right and left wrists which showed degenerative chronic changes in the hand, particularly in the basilar joint of the thumb. Dr. VanGiesen diagnosed the Claimant with scapholunate advanced collapse, or SLAC wrist, arthritis of the left thumb as well as carpal tunnel syndrome of both wrists. Dr.VanGiesen felt the Claimant’s problems were aggravated by his current work assignment and felt that the Claimant required four-quadrant fusion of the degenerative area and the SLAC of the right wrist as well as ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition arthroplasty of the left thumb in order for him to continue working. Dr. VanGiesen felt the Claimant’s problems were aggravated by his work assignment.
The Employer introduced the testimony of Dr. David F. Zelouf, MD, who conducted a physical examination of the Claimant which revealed swelling consistent with the SLAC wrist process and diagnosed the Claimant with stage II SLAC wrist process on the right side. Dr. Zelouf diagnosed the Claimant with stage III osteoarthritis of the thumb CMC joint, which indicated arthritis between the metacarpal and the trapezium. Dr. Zelouf was of the opinion that these conditions were not related to the Claimant’s job duties but to the Claimant’s age. The employer argued that the problems were due to driving his Harley Davison motorcycle manufactured by the Employer!
The Petitions were assigned to Workers Compensation Judge Wayne L. Dietrich in Harrisburg.
The Judge found the Claimant’s testimony to be credible and accepted the same as fact. The Judge found the testimony of Dr. Zelouf to be credible to the extent that it was consistent with the report of Dr. VanGiesen but incredible where Dr. Zelouf found the Claimant’s physical problems were not related to his job duties. The Judge found Dr. VanGiesen’s report to be credible, clear and concise and accepted the same as fact.
The Judge found the Claimant had sustained his burden of proving he had sustained a work-related injury in the nature of degenerative arthritis, SLAC wrist and carpal tunnel syndrome of both wrists and granted the Claimant’s Claim Petition, and ordered the Employer and American Casualty Co. of Reading to pay costs of litigation. The Judge also ordered the Employer and American Casualty Co. of Reading to pay all reasonable, necessary and related medical bills concerning the work injury. If you have any questions regarding work-related carpal tunnel syndrome or workers’ comp, feel free to contact us for free legal advice.
