News & Articles

This is a claim where labor market attachment was originally held in abeyance due to COVID restrictions, however, LOIS attorney, Adam Lowenstein, was persistent with raising and pursuing the issue once the Board lifted the COVID restrictions and was successful twice in achieving a finding of no attachment to the labor market. The first time was because the claimant failed to file work search documentation and the second was based on a successful cross-examination and picking apart the sufficiency of the work search.

The claimant is a 43-year-old gentleman who was born on September 17, 1979. This matter is established for injuries to the claimant’s neck, back, right shoulder, and right wrist. The claimant eventually came under the care of Dr. Robins and at a hearing, the Law Judge found prima facie medical evidence for major depressive disorder.

LOIS attorney, Steve McLinden, recently obtained a disallowance of three additional sites in an established claim, which should drastically curtail exposure on a claim that may resolve on a schedule loss of use award comparable to prior payments. This is a claim in which the claimant reportedly tripped in a living space in May 2020 and injured her right shoulder. Our client requested we open a file shortly before a January 2022 hearing, at which the claimant raised the head, neck, and back. Our client then obtained a neurology IME as well as a records review, which each found no causal relation to the additional sites. A total of five doctors were deposed at the law judge’s direction on the additional sites.

The claimant was injured on July 14, 2019, when she slipped on wet floor while cleaning. This claim is established to the left knee, back, left hip, and left ankle/foot. The claimant was found to have a temporary partial degree of disability as a September 2021 hearing; therefore, the claimant was directed to produce evidenced of labor market attachment. We filed an RFA-2 when the claimant failed to timely produce evidence of attachment. Moments prior to the hearing on March 7, 2022, the claimant filed evidence of labor market attachment. The Judge found the claimant’s evidence of labor market attachment evidence was not sufficient and suspended benefits.

The claimant, a then 16-year-old female, was injured on August 19, 2002 when the go-kart she was driving flipped over. Pursuant to Notice of Decision, filed August 20, 2003, this claim was established to include reflex sympathetic dystrophy to the right upper extremities (currently known as CRPS). On February 11, 2009, claimant was stipulated to have a “permanent partial disability” and thus, entitled to lifetime indemnity benefits at the permanent partial rate of $162.50, per week.

Lois Law Firm successfully saved a self-insured employer (hereinafter, “SIE”) $65,000 at the time of permanency by persuasively arguing that the IME doctor’s Schedule Loss of Use (“SLU”) opinion was more credible than the treating doctor’s SLU opinion. In this case the claimant injured his right shoulder and had an average weekly wage of roughly $1,100.00, which resulted in a maximum weekly benefit rate slightly higher than $760.00 per week. The SIE produced an IME report finding a right arm SLU of 25% based on range-of-motion (“ROM”) deficits and the claimant produced a C-4.3 permanency report finding a 52.5% SLU of the right arm based solely on ROM deficits. Thereafter, the parties were directed to complete depositions on the issue of SLU to the right arm.

LOIS attorney, Jeremy Janis, successfully argued for the disallowance of a consequential back claim for an established knee injury. Attorney Janis elicited testimony from the Claimant that he had pain to the back two weeks prior to the alleged consequential injury, which was pivotal in obtaining the disallowance. The Claimant had an accepted injury to the right knee after being up and down with product. The Claimant subsequently returned to work light duty and was set for surgery on his right knee. A few weeks prior to the scheduled surgery, the Claimant alleged a pain in his lower back, alleging that his right knee buckled as a result of the established injury, causing his back to jolt.

Christian Sison recently secured a disallowance of a claim filed by a Sales Executive of a technology company that LOIS defended. The claimant suffered admittedly serious injuries when he left a Happy Hour event hosted by an entity who did work with the technology company. Specifically, the claimant was walking the streets of Manhattan when he was struck by 2 motorized bicyclists.