April 28, 2016
A Union employee from Bloomsburg, PA, working as a driver for a delivery company, sustained a work injury to his right shoulder in April 2012, which the insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, accepted for payment of medical benefits only as a “left upper arm sprain.” We filed a Claim Petition describing the injury as “right shoulder – torn tendons and torn rotator cuff.” The injured worker was working in a light-duty position at a loss of wages and we requested partial disability from the date of injury to the present and ongoing. While the claim was in litigation, the insurance carrier agreed to issue a Notice of Compensation Payable with the accurate description of the injury and we were able to withdraw the Claim Petition. The insurance carrier had the injured worker attend an independent medical examination in July 2013 and the IME physician, Robert Mauthe, M.D., reported that the employee’s diagnosis was right rotator cuff tear status post repair and that he remained symptomatic from his work injury and subsequent surgery and that his prognosis was somewhat guarded. The claim ultimately resolved for $100,000 via a compromise and release. Including the settlement, the injured worker received $136,181.92 in wage loss benefits and $42,809.00 in medical benefits for his work injury.
