Attorney Michael Bantz recently prevailed in a trial over the disputed issue of whether the Petitioner’s ongoing medical conditions was causally related to her accident.  The Petitioner had injured her low back while attempting to open a broken dishwasher.  The claim was initially accepted and medical treatment had been approved, until an independent medical examiner opined that the Petitioner had recovered from all of her injuries that were related to her accident and opined that any further treatment for the Petitioner’s low back was unrelated to her work accident.

The Petitioner alleged that a recommendation for a spinal cord stimulator was related to her alleged accident and the case was tried on this issue, as well as over additional disputed medical treatment and allegedly owed past and ongoing TTD.  The Arbitrator found the Respondent’s evidence and arguments to be more persuasive and awarded no benefits to the Petitioner.  The Petitioner did not file a petition to seek review of the Arbitrator’s decision by the Commission.