LOIS Attorney Bailey Ott recently secured a favorable Board Panel Decision, which affirmed a trial win in which the claimant had been found to have no disability and no permanency to the neck and back, as well as 0% SLUs for the right arm, right hand, right leg, left foot, and right foot. This case had a very high potential exposure based on the amount of injuries the claimant had sustained, but we were able to secure a finding of no permanent injuries to any of the established sites. This case was established for injuries to the bilateral knees, left hip, neck, back, right elbow, right wrist, right hip, and bilateral ankles.
Claimant’s treating physician submitted a C-4.3 finding the following SLUs: 76% left hip, 60.8% right hip, 47.5% left knee, 20% right knee, 27.5% right hand, 7.5% right elbow. In an attachment, he assessed a 22.5% SLU for the right foot. The doctor then issued an apportionment opinion for the SLUs: for the right hand he apportioned 30% to the 2016 accident and 70% to 2018; for the right elbow he apportioned 40% to 2016 and 60% to 2018; for the right hip he apportioned 40% to the 2012 accident and 60% to 2018; for the left hip he apportioned 60% to the 2012 accident and 40% to 2018; for the right knee he apportioned 20% to 2012 and 80% to 2018; for the right foot he apportioned 45% to 2012 and 55% to 2018. In the claimant’s 2012 claim, the doctor’s C-4.3 assessed a SLU of 60% for each hip and 25% for the right foot. In his C-4.3 from February of 2017, he assessed a SLU of 60% for the left hip, 73% for the right hip and 25% for the right foot. In the 2012 claim, the claimant was awarded SLUs of 55% for the right leg, 12.5% for the left leg, and 12.5% for the right foot. In the 2016 claim, the doctor’s C-4.3 assessed a SLU of 50% for the right shoulder, 12.5% for the right elbow (62.5% total for the right arm), 40% for the left shoulder, and 45% for the right wrist. In the 2016 claim, the claimant was awarded SLUs of 12.5% for the right arm, 7.5% for the right hand, and 7.5% for the left arm. Therefore, we determined an IME cover letter would be necessary to combat these high SLU findings and to attack the treating physician’s credibility, using targeted questions that highlighted discrepancies in the treating physician’s reports.
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