CHARLES E. ANDERSON, Plaintiff,
v.
EMCOR GROUP, INC., AND THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, WORKERS' COMPENSATION TRUST FUND, Defendants.
No. 0053
Doc. 214
Nebraska Workers Compensation
December 8, 2016
Plaintiff: Dennis P. Crawford Crawford Law Offices
Defendants: Dru M. Moses Law Offices of Patrick J. Sodoro
(Emcor Group, Inc.) Lorra O'Banion Assistant Attorney
General (State of Nebraska Trust Fund)
ORDER
Laureen Van Norman, Judge
This
matter came before the Court on October 7, 2016. Two
pleadings are before the Court, first, a Petition to Modify
Further Award filed on May 20, 2016 by the defendant, Emcor
Group, Incorporated, and the second, a motion filed by
plaintiff to approve a vocational rehabilitation plan filed
on July 29, 2016. Evidence was adduced by all three parties
and the Court being fully advised in the premises finds as
follows:
At the
outset of the hearing, the parties requested the Court take
judicial notice of the prior Award entered on October 20,
2014 as well as the Further Award of October 2, 2015. There
being no objection, the Court took judicial notice as
requested. Further, the parties stipulated that Lisa Porter
was the vocational rehabilitation counselor agreed upon by
the parties pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-162.01(3). The
parties noted for the Court that the usual rebuttable
presumption of correctness attached to the opinion of an
agreed upon counselor was not present. In this case, the
administrative section of the Court, through a vocational
rehabilitation specialist, declined to approve the plan
proposed by Ms. Porter (E32).
The
Court will first consider the Petition to Modify filed by
defendant, Emcor. In essence, the defendant claims that while
plaintiff was given a prior award of vocational
rehabilitation services, he no longer needs such assistance.
The
evidence before the Court shows plaintiff is currently
engaged in operating a one-half-acre garden, and selling
produce along with canned goods and crafts. As opposed to his
previous wage of $1,060.00, the plaintiff testified he
currently earns approximately...
