No. 01564-05 (2008). Ronald Gleason v. Toxikon Corp.

CourtMassachusetts
Massachusetts Workers Compensation 2008. No. 01564-05 (2008). Ronald Gleason v. Toxikon Corp COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTSDEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTSBoard No.: 01564-05 Employee: Ronald Gleason Employer: Toxikon Corp. Insurer:Chubb National Insurance Co.REVIEWING BOARD DECISION(Judges Fabricant, Costigan and Horan)APPEARANCESCharles E. Berg, Esq., for the employee at hearing James N. Ellis, Esq., for the employee on appeal William C. Harpin, Esq., for the insurerFABRICANT, J. The insurer appeals from a decision in which the administrative judge awarded the employee ongoing § 34 benefits for a lower back injury with a resultant mental disability. Because the judge failed to make findings on the insurer's defense of § 1(7A) "a major" causation,[1]and because he also decided an issue not before him, we reverse the decision and recommit the case for further findings. The employee, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military service in Vietnam, sustained a lower back injury due to a slip and fall in the course of his employment on January 18, 2005, and he has not worked since. (Dec. 627.) The insurer did not accept the employee claim for workers' compensation benefits, which was also denied at the § 10A conference. The employee appealed to an evidentiary hearing where his motion to join a psychiatric claim was allowed. (Dec. 626, 632.) The employee underwent an impartial medical examination by Dr. Victor A. Conforti on January 25, 2006. Dr. Conforti diagnosed a sprain of the lumbosacral spine superimposed on previously asymptomatic degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease, spondylitic spondylolisthesis, and cubital tunnel syndrome. He causally related the lumbosacral sprain and cubital tunnel syndrome to the work injury. Dr. Conforti considered the employee partially disabled and restricted him from lifting, bending, stooping, climbing or kneeling, sitting or standing for more than 15-20 minutes, and repetitive work with his right arm. The judge allowed additional medical evidence due to medical complexity. See § 11A(2). (Dec. 627-628.) The employee's additional medical evidence included a psychiatric report by Dr. Bennett D. Aspel, who opined the employee suffered from a mood disorder secondary to chronic pain, secondary, in turn, to his back injury. (Dec. 630-631.) Based on the...

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