When a truck driver for the city of Chicago was injured at work, Scott Goldstein of Ankin Law helped him get the surgery and the compensation he needed. As a result of an arbitration hearing, the truck driver was awarded Temporary Total Disability benefits of $1,005.66/week for 91 5/7 weeks. He will also receive prospective medical care in the form of a right total hip replacement surgery. The right hip injury was a result of overcompensating and putting his weight primarily on his right side to protect his surgically repaired left hip.

On the day of the accident the truck driver was stepping down off his work truck and twisted his left knee and felt a pop. He testified the truck he was driving that day is one Chicago’s old trucks, so it only has one step while the new city trucks have two steps. This makes the step down from the truck much further. He reported the injury to supervisors and saw a doctor that day.
(Read the full Arbitrator Decision here)
The truck driver saw two orthopedic physicians who agreed that the cause of the left knee pain stemmed from severe left hip arthritis and his left knee pain was actually referred pain from the left hip. The doctors felt that the injury required a left hip arthroplasty (total hip replacement) surgery. The left hip surgery was performed, and he began the recovery process.
During recovery from the left hip surgery, he reported that pain symptoms in his right hip started getting progressively worse. The reason for the pain, Scott Goldstein would show, was that to protect his left hip, he was overcompensating and putting all his weight on his right side. As he did this, his right hip was being damaged. The arbitrator ruled that the need for right a total right hip replacement surgery is causally related to the work accident.
Below is an excerpt from the Arbitrator Decision detailing how the right hip condition is casually related to the work accident that injured the truck driver’s left knee:
Petitioner’s current condition of ill-being in his left knee, left hip, and right hip is causally related to his June 2, 2021 work accident. Petitioner’s preexisting condition arthritis in his bilateral hips was aggravated and significantly worsened by his June 2, 2021 work accident. In Illinois it is well established that an aggravation of a preexisting condition is compensable Sisbro Inc. v Industrial Commission, 207 Ill.2d 193 (Ill. 2003) 797 N.E.2d 665.
In this case petitioner’s left hip was condition was aggravated directly by the trauma on June 2, 2021. This is agreed by Petitioner’s treating physician, Dr. Durudogan, and Respondent’s IME physician, Dr. Ackerman. The left hip causal connection and left hip surgery is not disputed. The right hip was aggravated following his left hip surgery from overcompensation as detailed by Petitioner at trial and by Dr. Durudogan at his deposition. Respondent’s IME, Dr. Ackerman, conceded at his deposition that overcompensation with the right hip following Petitioner’s left hip surgery is a plausible explanation for Petitioner’s current right hip condition
For the foregoing reasons, the Arbitrator finds Petitioner’s current condition of ill-being in his left knee, left hip, and right hip is causally related to his June 2, 2021 work accident.