LOIS Partner Connor Wetherington and Paralegal Chrystalla Karamanis obtained back-to-back disallowances at the trial level, securing wins for their employer-client (a Membership-Only Warehouse Club) in a New York Workers’ Compensation claim. Even though these alleged injuries occurred on different days, at different store locations, and tried before different Law Judges, these individuals had one thing in common: prior motor vehicle accidents involving overlapping sites of injury.
In the first claim, the Claimant alleged injuries to their neck, back, right shoulder, right elbow, right wrist, right knee, and right hip while lifting and placing merchandise on the display tables. Yet, the Claimant was actively receiving treatment for all the alleged sites of injury until 12 days prior to the alleged work injury, which were injured in a prior motor vehicle accident. During cross-examination, Wetherington focused his questioning about the treatment and got the Claimant that their medial ailments and conditions from the motor vehicle accident were still active at the time of the alleged injury at work. It was also proven that the Claimant failed to fully disclose as well as underplaying the motor vehicle accident on the C-3.0 Employee Claim Form and treating providers. Subtaintial, credible evidence via employer-witness testimony and store video proved that the reported mechanism of injury could not have caused the plethora of injuries alleged.
In the second claim, the Claimant alleged an injury to their neck after tripping and falling over an unmarked curb in the parking lot. The Claimant here was involved in a motor vehicle accident the day before the alleged work injury and failed to disclose the same on the C-3.0 Employee Claim Form. The initial medical records patently stated that the neck injury was related to the motor vehicle accident. At trial, the Claimant conceded the treating provider took them out of work due to the motor vehicle accident, not the alleged workplace injury. The employer-witness refuted the Claimant’s allegations, as it was confirmed the Claimant quit her job due to the pain caused by the unrelated, motor vehicle accident. This claim was later disallowed by way of a Reserved Decision.
Ultimately, the Law Judge in each claim found that the Claimants lacked credibility and did not have an accident within the course and scope of employment. Wetherington obtained the two full disallowances by successfully undermining credibility and weaponizing each Claimant’s respective prior medical history to prove no causal nexus between injury and employment.
