Landau Injury Law

This just in on the Trial lawyers listServ from our friend Dick Thomas, esteemed Roanoke Virginia Workers Comp lawyer:

We just got a review opinion , written by Commissioner Dudley, reversing the deputy commissioner and awarding benefits. Claimant had a series of injuries over the years, and had bilateral degenerative disease of the hips. In 2003, he fell on his left hip, and the deputy commissioner ruled that the fall aggravated his preexisting degenerative disease. He then developed increased symptoms in the right hip, which his treating orthopedist at the time attributed to overuse from favoring the left hip. He then had a left hip replacement, covered under his award. Further problems with the right hip ensued, resulting in right hip replacement by a different surgeon. The original doctor failed to relate the right hip problem, and the treating surgeon refused to give an opinion.

The Defense was “consequence of a consequence,” and therefore NOT compensable. In other words, the defense lawyer contended that causation was TOO REMOTE and that the employer/carrier should not be held responsible any more. The trial judge (”deputy commissioner’) agreed, saying the left hip injury caused hip pain, the hip pain caused the right hip pain, so the right hip was a consequence of a consequence (!).

The Full Commission on review (”appeal”) reversed, saying that the case of Amoco Foam and Farmington Country Club did not apply to these facts. This new case is Godbey v. Lynchburg Foundry, VWC 219-12-69 (decided April 8, 2008). The Full Commission seems to be taking a more sensible approach to compensable consequence than other case law had suggested. At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we have won “Compensable Consequences” claims for clients in a variety of cases. Typical examples of claims we have won include overuse to the non-injured side, depression and falls.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 2:46 am and is filed under Disability, Disease Claims, Job Accidents, Workers Compensation, Working with Doctors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.