No. 02472696 (1999). EMPLOYEE: Robert Duggan.

• Case Date: November 19, 1999
• Court: Massachusetts

Massachusetts Workers Compensation 1999. No. 02472696 (1999). EMPLOYEE: Robert Duggan COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS EMPLOYEE: Robert Duggan EMPLOYER: Liberty Transportation INSURER: General Accidents Insurance Co.BOARD NO'S: 02472696, 03357996REVIEWING BOARD DECISION (Judges Smith, McCarthy and Wilson)APPEARANCES Paul S. Danahy, Esq., for the employee Thomas P. O'Reilly, Esq., for the insurer at hearing Paul M. Moretti, Esq., for the insurer on appeal SMITH, J. The insurer appeals from a decision that awarded benefits for two closed periods of temporary total incapacity and ongoing partial incapacity. Because there is no competent evidence in the record that a work injury remains a cause of the employee's ongoing complaints of pain, we reverse the decision and recommit the case for further findings. Robert Duggan, a truck driver, had a left patella that did not track properly. (Dec. 9.) Nevertheless, he worked without left knee problems until 1996. In November 1995, he began having problems with his back due to a broken seat in his truck. The seat was eventually repaired, and his back got better. (Dec. 4.) In July 1996, Duggan was once again assigned to a truck with a broken seat. On July 4, 1996, he left work because of pain in his right shoulder, his knees, neck and back. Duggan stayed out of work for about one week. Upon returning to work, on July 23, 1996, Duggan drove a different truck on a route from Boston to Connecticut. The truck had problems with its fuel tank, which caused it to lose power. Duggan had to shift continuously for at least one to two hours in order to keep the truck going. The shifting involved repetitive use of his left foot. His left knee became painful. Duggan reported the problem with the truck to his supervisor in Connecticut. He notified his superiors in Boston of his physical ailments upon returning on July 25, 1996. Duggan left work at that time, and has not returned. (Dec. 5.) The judge made these additional findings: Prior to July 4 1996 and July 25 1996, Duggan had no medical problems with his neck, back, shoulders or knees. (Dec. 6; but compare the judge's finding of back problems in November 1995, Dec. 4.) Duggan was aware that the employer was closing its Massachusetts facility and moving to Connecticut around mid-August 1996, which meant that he might well be out of a job with the company. Although the company had mentioned a job offer in Connecticut, a formal offer had not been made to Duggan prior to his last day of work. (Dec. 6.) Duggan treated with various doctors, and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in February 1997. He attempted work hardening, but stopped because of increased pain in the back, shoulder and neck. (Dec. 6.) He continued to experience pain in varying gradations. As of the hearing date, Duggan had been out of work for seventeen...