RECTO v. HCR Manorcare Inc., 061621 VAWC, VA00001769176

• Case Date: June 16, 2021
• Court: Virginia

LOLITA RECTO v. HCR MANORCARE INC INS CO OF THE STATE PA (THE), Insurance Carrier BROADSPIRE SERVICES, INC, Claim Administrator Jurisdiction Claim No. VA00001769176 Virginia Workers Compensation Virginia In The Workers' Compensation Commission June 16, 2021           Date of Injury: July 14, 2020          Claim Administrator File No. 189348432001           David M. Snyder, Esquire For the Claimant.           Adam S. Rafal, Esquire For the Defendants.           REVIEW on the record by Commissioner Marshall, Commissioner Newman, and Commissioner Rapaport at Richmond, Virginia.          OPINION           RAPAPORT, COMMISSIONER          The claimant requests review of the Deputy Commissioner's March 16, 2021 Opinion denying medical benefits and temporary total disability benefits on the findings that she did not prove the occurrence of an injury by accident nor provide timely notice of an accident to the employer. We AFFIRM.          I. Material Proceedings          The claimant filed a Claim for Benefits on September 24, 2020 alleging that she sustained a compensable injury by accident on July 14, 2020 and "injured her right shoulder and right arm in the course and scope of employment." The defendants raised numerous defenses against the claim including that there was no injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment and that the claimant failed to provide the employer with timely notice of the injury.          Deputy Commissioner Kennard conducted an evidentiary hearing on February 17, 2021. The Deputy Commissioner found that the evidence established that the claimant suffered a right shoulder injury sometime in late June of 2020, as opposed to one arising out of and during the course of her employment on July 14, 2020. He explained that

we do not find the claimant to be a credible witness. We remain unpersuaded by a number of assertions that were made by the claimant during the course of her testimony. We find the claimant's testimony to be undermined not only by inconsistency with the submitted medical records, but also by what we determine to be the credible and consistent testimony of the defense witnesses who, despite the claimant's testimony to the contrary, all testified that the claimant did not report a work-related injury to the employer until mid-September, 2020.

We initially note that we find the claimant's claim of a work-related injury occurring while at work on July 14, 2020 to be unsupported by the submitted medical records. The claimant's medical

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