LOIS Associate Zaraya Wade secured a victory in a New York Workers’ Compensation case and obtained a WCL Section 114-a violation finding with mandatory and discretionary penalties assessed. In this instant matter, the Claimant, a housekeeper, fell on the floor while making a bed. The claim was established to the low back, neck, left shoulder, left elbow, left wrist, and bilateral knees. The Claimant pursued medical treatment between January 2023 and September 2024 but failed to disclose her prior neck and back injuries related to a prior work accident. At the fraud trial, during Attorney Wade’s meticulous cross-examination, the Claimant testified that she reported her neck and back injuries to all of her providers, conceding that she had undergone prior neck and back MRIs, injections, medial branch blocks, utilized assistive devices, and settled her prior unrelated Workers’ Compensation claim.
The Law Judge determined the Claimant severely violated WCL Section 114-a for failing to report her prior significant neck and back injuries to any medical provider or IME. It was noted that there were no medical records or deposition testimony that supported the Claimant’s trial testimony that she reported her prior neck and back injuries to her medical providers or IMEs. Not only did the Law Judge note that the Claimant’s selective omissions were egregious but stated that it compromised the medical integrity of all the Claimant’s medical records. Accordingly, the Law Judge assessed both mandatory and discretionary penalties, including a lifetime future ban on all future indemnity benefits.
