AHMAD ALTAHIR, Employee, Claimant,
v.
TRIDENT SEAFOODS CORPORATION, Employer,
and
LIBERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, Insurer, Defendants.
AWCB Decision No. 21-0018
AWCB No. 201709914
Alaska Workers Compensation Board
March 1, 2021
FINAL
DECISION AND ORDER
Jung
M. Yeo, Designated Chair.
Ahmad
Altahir’s (Employee) September 17, 2018 claim was heard
on January 28, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska, a date selected on
November 5, 2020. A December 13, 2018 hearing request gave
rise to this hearing. Employee appeared telephonically,
testified and represented himself. English is
Employee’s second language; Anwar Alrakh appeared
telephonically and interpreted Arabic into Employee. Attorney
Jeffrey Holloway appeared telephonically and represented
Trident Seafoods Corporation and Liberty Insurance
Corporation (collectively, Employer). The record closed at
the hearing’s conclusion on January 28, 2021.
ISSUES
Employer
contends Employee’s cervical and lumbar spines, right
ankle, and left shoulder claims are barred because he failed
to give timely notice of his injuries. Employee did not
address this issue; therefore, his position is unknown. It is
assumed he opposes.
1) Are
Employee’s cervical and lumbar spine, right ankle, and
left shoulder claims barred for failure to give notice?
Employer
contends Employee made unauthorized changes of physicians;
thus, all medical records from June 19, 2018, should be
excluded. Employee did not address this issue; therefore, his
position is unknown. It is assumed he opposes.
2) Did
Employee make unlawful changes of physicians?
Employer
contends it had timely filed a request for cross-examination
on Gaurav Rajput, D.O., and Employee did not produce him for
hearing. It contends Dr. Rajput’s November 14, 2019
letter should be excluded. Employee did not address this
issue; therefore, his position is unknown. It is assumed he
opposes.
3)
Should Dr. Rajput’s November 14, 2019 letter be
excluded?
Employee
contends he sustained a compensable injury on July 15, 2017,
while working for Employer, he has been disabled since, and
is entitled to temporary total disability (TTD) benefits.
Employer
disagrees; it contends his disability ended on February 12,
2018. Therefore, it contends Employee is not entitled to TTD
benefits.
4) Is
Employee entitled to a TTD benefit award?
Employee
contends he is entitled to permanent partial impairment (PPI)
benefits.
Employer
disagrees; it contends Employee’s PPI rating is zero
and he is not entitled to PPI benefits.
5) Is
Employee entitled to PPI benefits?
Employee
contends he needs medical care and treatment for his work
injury. He seeks an order requiring Employer to pay for all
medical and transportation costs necessitated by his work
injury.
Employer
contends Employee’s cervical and lumbar spine, right
ankle, and left shoulder injuries are not work-related. It
contends he is medically stable, is no longer disabled, and
needs no further medical treatment for his left hand work
injury. Thus, it contends Employee is not entitled to related
medical care and transportation costs.
6) Is
Employee entitled to medical care and related transportation
costs?
Employee
contends because Employer should have never stopped paying
benefits, he is entitled to a late-payment penalty.
Employer
contends Employee is not entitled to penalties because he is
not entitled to any benefit, and the evidence and law support
its controversion notices.
7) Is
Employee entitled to a late-payment penalty?
Employee
contends he is entitled to interest on unpaid benefits.
Employer
contends Employee is not entitled to interest as it timely
controverted his claims, and he is not entitled to any
benefit in this case.
8) Is
Employee entitled to interest?
Employee
seeks attorney fees and costs.
Employer
contends he is entitled to no benefits so attorney fees and
costs should be denied.
9) Is
Employee entitled to attorney fees and costs?
FINDINGS
OF FACT
A
preponderance of the evidence establishes the following facts
and factual conclusions:
1) On
July 16, 2017, Employee reported he injured his left hand on
July 15, 2017, when it was “crushed between rack and
pole” while working for Employer. (Employer Report of
Occupational Injury or Illness, July 16, 2017).
2) On
July 16, 2017, Vickie Glover, PA-C, saw Employee and noted:
“swelling and tenderness of left hand. Spoke with
safety officer last night who splinted patient and gave ice
and ibuprofen. Came in this morning for Xray. Denies
numbness, tingling, weakness in left hand.” (Glover
report, July 16, 2017). Rachel Goldberg, PA-C, released him
to light duty work wearing a splint beginning July 17, 2017.
(Goldberg report, July 16, 2017). An x-ray showed a
“soft tissue swelling on the dorsum of the [left]
hand” without “acute osseous abnormality of the
wrist.” (Dirk Bringhurst, M.D., report, July 16, 2017).
3) On
July 19, 2017, PA-C Goldberg saw Employee and noted:
“significant swelling, tenderness and pain of left hand
between 3rd and 4th metacarpals from
MCP joints to wrist. Decreased ROM of 3rd and
4th fingers due to pain. No neurovascular
compromise. No fracture on Xray.” She restricted use of
his hand and prescribed Naproxen and a splint. (Goldberg
report, July 19, 2017).
4) On
July 29, 2017, PA-C Goldberg released Employee to light duty
work wearing a splint. (Goldberg report, July 29, 2017).
5) On
August 1, 2017, Employee saw Mathew Neddo, PA-C, in Utah, and
said he injured his left hand, left shoulder, and right ankle
while working for Employer. PA-C Neddo noted, “He
doesn’t speak English but is here with a translator,
his brother.” He released Employee to modified duty
with occasional pushing or pulling with 15 lbs. of arm
lifting limit, and minimal use of left hand, not limited by a
splint. (Neddo report, August 1, 2017). Another x-ray
revealed “mild soft tissue swelling with no definite
acute fracture or dislocations.” (James Webber, M.D.,
report, August 1, 2017). There is no evidence Employee
communicated with Employer about his left shoulder and right
ankle injuries or it had reason to know about them. (Agency
file, record).
6) On
August 8, 2017, PA-C Neddo saw Employee and diagnosed (1)
acute ankle pain, (2) left hand contusion, and (3) left
anterior shoulder pain. (Neddo report, August 8, 2017).
7) On
September 14, 2017, Jeffrey Randle, M.D., saw Employee and
diagnosed “left shoulder impingement syndrome, question
rotator cuff tear.” Dr. Randle noted, “We will
try to get an interpreter for his next visit. We may need to
do an MRI of the shoulder.” (Randle report, September
14, 2017).
8) On
November 9, 2017, Employee saw Joon-Whee Kim, M.D., in
Georgia and said he injured his left shoulder, low back and
left hand on July 11, 2017, while working for Employer. Dr.
Kim diagnosed (1) left shoulder contusion with differential
diagnoses of fracture, dislocation and internal derangement,
(2) cervicothoracic contusion/strain with myalgia and
myositis, (3) lumbosacral/ pelvic contusion/strain with
myalgia and myositis, and (4) motor and sensory deficits,
left upper and lower extremities, etiology undetermined. Dr.
Kim noted: “because of language barrier and unavailable
medical records, this evaluation is incomplete and it is
unable to formulate diagnosis treatment plan.” (Kim
report, November 9, 2017). There is no evidence Employee
communicated with Employer about his cervical and lumbar
spine, right ankle or left shoulder injuries or it had reason
to know about them. (Agency file, record).
9) On
January 30, 2018, Stephen McCollam, M.D., saw Employee and
stated, “the patient reports persistent pain of the
left hand and left shoulder as well as left lower extremity.
He also reports global left upper extremity numbness and
tingling. Physical exam demonstrates global tenderness about
the left shoulder with what might be some atrophy of the
supraspinatus insertion. His physical exam was very
nonlocalizing. . . . This is partially due to a cultural and
language barrier. . . . X-rays of his left shoulder [was]
unremarkable. I think he should get an MRI of the left
shoulder, the left hand and the left thumb. I also...
