The claimant sought a 41.67% Schedule Loss of Use award for the left knee, creating approximately $90,500 in compensation reserve exposure. Earlier records documented knee range of motion from zero to 130 degrees when the claimant was released to work without restrictions, followed by zero to 85 degrees and then a dramatically reduced 10 to 35 degrees at the carrier’s later independent medical examination.
The carrier’s examiner declined to provide a Schedule Loss of Use opinion because the claimant did not appear to give maximum effort and the measurements were inconsistent with the prior record. LOIS Associate Marigold T. Bridgeman developed that testimony through deposition. The LOIS team then organized the medical chronology and supporting record, and prepared the summation requesting a finding of no permanent impairment, or alternatively no more than a minimal award.
The New York Workers’ Compensation Law Judge found insufficient medical evidence of permanency because the record did not explain the drastic deterioration in range of motion. No Schedule Loss of Use award was made, preserving the approximately $90,500 reserve. The result demonstrates how coordinated attorney-paralegal preparation can turn medical inconsistency into a clear, measurable financial benefit for the client.
