A delivery driver alleged a right wrist injury after falling in a physician’s waiting room when his back reportedly “froze.” Rather than adding unnecessary defense medical expense, Lois Law Firm Partner Christian Sison and Paralegal James Calabro concentrated on whether the claimant’s own proof satisfied the burden of establishing a causally related wrist injury.
The LOIS team reviewed the medical reports in detail and cross-examined the claimant’s physician. The physician acknowledged that the claimant declined emergency treatment after the alleged fall and that the report did not contain a definitive wrist diagnosis. Instead, the physician had recommended diagnostic testing only to explore whether an injury existed.
Attorney Sison then submitted a written summation explaining why the claimant’s medical evidence did not establish causal relationship. The New York Workers’ Compensation Law Judge agreed and disallowed the wrist claim. The result eliminated potential lifetime medical exposure and possible permanent impairment exposure for the carrier, while demonstrating that a creative defense sometimes means proving the insufficiency of the claimant’s case rather than multiplying expert costs.
