CP# 97-44066 (2001). ANDREW LINKE Petitioner, v. FREEHOLD DODGE Respondent.

• Court: New Jersey

New Jersey Worker's Compensation 2001. CP# 97-44066 (2001). ANDREW LINKE Petitioner, v. FREEHOLD DODGE Respondent CP# 97-044066 Linke v. Freehold DodgeSTATE OF NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION ANDREW LINKE Petitioner, v. FREEHOLD DODGE RespondentCLAIM PETITION NOS. C.P. 97-44066RESERVED DECISION JUNE 25, 2001BEFORE: HONORABLE ANDREW M. SMITH, JR. Judge of CompensationAPPEARANCES: CHRISTOPHER SUPSIE Attorney for the Petitioner MARK LAWHEAD Attorney for the Respondent LOIS GREGORY, DAG For Second Injury FundPetitioner is a 41 year-old male who did heavy work as an auto mechanic, repairing brakes, installing mufflers, working underneath engines, etc. While at work on June 5, 1996, he picked up a heavy tire to return it to a truck upon which he was working. He felt a sudden sharp pain in his lower back. By the next morning, his back was so bad that he couldn't get out of bed. Later that day, Freehold orthopedist Dr. Manuel Ranzon examined him and diagnosed his problem as a herniated lumbro-sacral disk. An MRI a week later confirmed this diagnosis. Dr. Ranzon treated him conservatively at first, and then administered some epidural injections. His condition improved and he returned to work on December 3, 1996. The improvement did not last. His back soon began to worsen and by March 3, 1997 he could not continue to work and was under intensive medical treatment. He had three surgeries in 1997 and 1998 to alleviate herniated nuclei propulsi and to fuse and stabilize his spinal column. The petitioner was not released from active medical treatment until June 16, 1999. The evidence clearly shows that the petitioner has a severe orthopedic disability. Respondent has been voluntarily paying the petitioner 30% of permanent partial disability since his medical treatment ended in 1999. The following issues are presented:

1. Is Petitioner's permanent disability total or partial in character?

2. Does he have any prior functional loss which would entitle Respondent to a credit under N.J.S.A. 34:15-12d, or if petitioner is totally disabled, to Second Injury Fund participation under N.J.S.A. 34:15-95?

3. If Petitioner's disability is less than total in character, but his functional illiteracy combines with that disability to render him totally and permanently disabled, is Petitioner entitled to total disability under the "odd lot" doctrine or does his illiteracy constitute a pre-existing physical or mental impairment for which the Second Injury Fund would be liable?

All the doctors who treated and evaluated the Petitioner agree that the nature of his back pathology would prohibit his return to any kind of strenuous work. His back is fragile after all the surgeries and all of the hardware installed there. Petitioner cannot lift very much. Petitioner can not...