CP# 1999-023497 (2003). EMANUEL ROJAS Petitioner v. BROADWAY HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT Respondent.

• Court: New Jersey

New Jersey Workers Compensation 2003. CP# 1999-023497 (2003). EMANUEL ROJAS Petitioner v. BROADWAY HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT Respondent CP# 99-23497 Rojas v. Broadway Healthcare ManagementHonorable Charles W. Dortch, Jr. Judge of CompensationBurlington Township Municipal Building 851 Old York Road Burlington, New Jersey 08833 (609) 386-5023 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DIVISION OF WORKER'S COMPENSATION Docket No.: 1999-023497 EMANUEL ROJAS Petitioner,v.BROADWAY HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT Respondent.RESERVE DECISIONAppearances: Howard Batt, Esquire for Petitioner Marie Rose Bloomer by Kevin Shambaugh, Esquire for Respondent This is the court decision in Rojas v. BroadwayHealthcare Management, Petition #1999-023497 with respect to the Petitioner's application for review and modification of the Court's April 22, 2001 Order. Petitioner while working for Respondent on March 26, 1999 fell injuring his back. Petitioner filed a claim petition and an order approving settlement was ultimately entered on August 22, 2001 by the Honorable Matthew Parks for 7 1/2 of permanent partial total disability for the orthopedic residuals of an acute lumbosacral strain and sprain of the left sacroiliac joint. The relevant facts are as follows. On March 26, 1999 while working as a laundry attendant for Respondent, Petitioner fell injuring his back. The Petitioner filed a claim petition and a motion for medical treatment and temporary benefits, but later abandoned that motion and moved to permanency evaluations. The Company's doctor, Dr. Gary I. Cohen evaluated Petitioner on May 14, 1999. Dr. Cohen recorded the Petitioner's complaints as back pain radiating down his left leg. He also recorded the Petitioner's complaints as "pain in his left lower back radiating down his legs at times, sometimes down past the knee." Dr. Cohen performed a straight leg raising test and found Petitioner's straight leg raising as positive for pain on the left and negative on the right. At a subsequent examination On June 8, 1999 Dr. Cohen recorded the Petitioner's complaints as pain in each leg. His progress notes indicated that the Petitioner continued to experience pain down his left leg with straight leg raising against positive on the left and negative on the right. Dr. Gerald Hayken examined the Petitioner on January 20, 2000. He recorded the Petitioner's complaints as "lower back pain with radiation into his left leg." Dr. Hayken found straight leg raising as causing, "left buttock pain with radiation into the left thigh." Dr. Henry E. David also evaluated Petitioner and reviewed his medical history. In his report of June 14, 2001 he recorded the Petitioner's complaints "...as referable to his low back pointing to the lumbosacaral region, left sacroiliac joint and pain radiating down the posterial lateral aspect of the leg pointing to the L-5 dermatome." Based upon a reasonable degree of medical certainty and probability, Dr. David diagnosed Petitioner as having an acute and chronic lumbosacral strain and sprain and strain of the left sacroiliac joint. He did not recommend any further treatment or diagnostic testing . Dr. Lawrence Zazzo evaluated the Petitioner on behalf of the Respondent and also reviewed his medical history. He also recorded the Petitioner's complaints as, "...intermittent left lower back discomfort (he points to an area near the sacroiliac joint)...he denies any radicular component." Dr. Zazzo assessed Petitioner as having symptoms consistent with a chronic low grade left sacroiliac dysfunction. He also found that the Petitioner had reached maximum medical improvement. It is significant to note that neither a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test nor any comparable...