Brandt v. General Motors Corp., 110106 MIWC, 2006-64

Case DateNovember 01, 2006
CourtMichigan
HARRY A BRANDT SS # xxx Plaintiff,
v.
GENERAL MOTORS CORP, SELF-INSURED, Defendant.
No. 2006-64
Michigan Workers Compensation
State of Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth Workers’ Compensation Agency Board of Magistrates
November 1, 2006
         The social security number and dates of birth have been redacted from this opinion.           Trial was held on October 3 2006 in Flint, Genesee County Michigan.           THE PLAINTIFF Andrew Ferguson, P 42950, for Plaintiff.           THE DEFENDANTS Charles Gilfeather, P 26457 for Defendant.           OPINION           MICHAEL T. HARRIS, MAGISTRATE, 199, JUDGE          THE CLAIM          Plaintiff          STIPULATIONS:
1. Plaintiff is being paid benefits and this hearing is simply about medical bills, specifically some bills from Drs. Holladay and Matthewis.
         ISSUES:
1. Whether General Motors is in receipt of sufficient information and whether it is under an obligation to pay the bills of Dr. Matthewis and/or Dr. Holliday.
         SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE          HARRY BRANDT, Plaintiff, said he was injured in 1993 while working in the steel crib. He was lifting a heavy piece of steel. He hurt his neck. He first did some work-hardening therapy. Then, he was sent to a sports medicine doctor in Troy who diagnosed a herniated disc in his neck. He met with a surgeon who said he didn’t want to operate unless he couldn’t stand the pain. It was pain in the back of the neck and upward in the base of the head, and downward into the shoulder girdle.          Dr. Holladay was his doctor. They wrote him an order for a TENS unit. Plaintiff received some treatment with this TENS unit. It was suggested by the surgeon and plant medical director. This treatment was also in the early 1990s, maybe 1995. The treatment consisted of application of heat packs, and then placing electrical leads on his skin which produced electrical shocks and took away his headaches. It only provided relief for a couple of days each time. The GM doctor wrote a prescription for the TENS unit and he took it to be filled.. He went to get it filled, but Betty Jefferson, the adjustor, denied the claim. So, he returned the TENS unit since Betty Jefferson wouldn’t authorize it.          He last saw Dr. Matthewis because they quit paying a long time ago. It was maybe 2005 he says. He saw both Dr. Matthewis and Dr. Holladay at various times. They did the heat packs and the TENS unit treatments. They would put the packs on his neck, and would hook up the TENS unit to his head and neck. This took place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and went from 2001 to 2005. It got rid of his headaches, and it would be a 1 ½ to...

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