Ankin Law attorney, Josh Rudolfi recently represented a worker who injured his back lifting propane tanks during the course of his job at DCC Propane/Hicksgas Propane Sale and Service. This was the second time the employer refused to pay for a recommended surgery stemming from the same accident. Like the first time, the case went to arbitration before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The employee was awarded a microdiscectomy during the first arbitration. When that did not resolve the problems, he saw a doctor who recommended a fusion surgery. Ankin Law attorney Josh Rudolf made sure the employer will pay for the second surgery as well.
[Read the full Arbitrator Decision here]
The order from the arbitrator awarded the injured employee:
1. Temporary total disability benefits that have accrued from 7/7/2022 through 5/2/2024 and 12/5/2024 through 5/21/2025 (The employer will pay the remainder of the award, if any, in weekly payments.).
2. Maintenance benefits of $586.67/week for 30 and 6/7 weeks, commencing 5/3/2024 through 12/4/2024.
3. DCC Propane/Hicksgas Propane Sale and Service will pay a penalty of $4,140 for a late payment.
4. DCC Propane/Hicksgas Propane Sale and Service will authorize and pay for the L4-L5 microdiskectomy and fusion as recommended by the injured employee’s doctor along with all associated reasonable and necessary post-operative medical care.
During the arbitration the employer relied on the deposition of the employer’s EME Doctor which ultimately proved detrimental to their case. The employer failed to provide her with the medical notes for the latest report, yet she still concluded the injured employee merely suffered chronic mechanical back pain and degenerative disc disease. She suggested that the injuries were not related to the work accident. She also felt his symptoms were exaggerated. However, the EME doctor did not review the December 2024 MRI and admitted to being unaware of the specific surgical recommendation. Additionally, she admitted that she had never performed a back surgery even though she was commenting on whether the employee might need it. The arbitrator felt the opinion of the employee’s doctor and the evidence presented by Rudolfi were more persuasive than what the EME Doctor concluded.
Compounding the employer’s troubles, their defense attorney filed his appeal of the first decision a day late. In response, Rudolfi filed a motion to dismiss their appeal. The Commissioner agreed, forcing the employer to pay. As a result of losing a chance at an appeal, the payment from the first arbitration award was paid 138 days late. As such, DCC Propane/Hicksgas Propane Sale and Service had to pay a penalty of $30 per day as a “late fee”, totaling $4,140.00.
