Michele R. Punturi

We prosecuted a Termination Petition involving a 71-year-old certified nursing assistant who suffered a work injury to the lumbar spine with a pre-existing back condition, the latter of which the claimant denied. The defense medical expert, a Board-certified orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in surgical treatment of spinal injuries, examined the claimant and his opinions were found competent, credible and persuasive supporting a full recovery. The judge rejected claimant’s medical expert as not credible even though he attempted to support an aggravation of her underlying degenerative disc disease. The judge further rejected claimant’s testimony given her efforts to unequivocally deny prior back injury going as far as to say it would be a lie to say she had a prior low back injury despite the medical records that clearly demonstrated prior treatment along with medication for her lumbar spine. Also, the demonstration of her sporadic treatment further supported a lack of credibility as did favorable surveillance showing her active.  

We successfully prosecuted a termination petition involving a 65-year-old, 35+ year employee of a renowned international automobile corporation who sustained a left knee injury on June 19, 2023. We secured medical records supporting a significant pre-existing history—with a prior left knee replacement and treatment leading up to June 1, 2023—establishing that the only work injury sustained was a left knee contusion. Further, the opinions of the defense medical expert, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with a sub-specialty in the treatment of the knees, were found competent and credible, thus supporting a full recovery based upon his comprehensive physical examination and his review of records and diagnostic studies. The workers’ compensation judge further found the employer had a reasonable basis to contest all issues and denied attorney’s fees. Such a decision will result in a substantial recoupment of indemnity and benefits payments made throughout the course of the litigation via a Supersedeas Fund Reimbursement recovery.

We successfully prosecuted a termination petition involving a low back injury for a delivery truck service company. Our expert opined that the MRI failed to reveal any acute or post traumatic findings, that the claimant only sustained a soft tissue lumbar sprain/contusion and the exam revealed no objective findings. The workers’ compensation judge found our expert’s opinions were well-supported and terminated all liability.

We successfully defended a claim petition on behalf of a well-known local hospital. The judge’s decision was based upon a full recovery opinion by a Board Certified orthopedic surgeon who was found credible, competent and persuasive given his credentials and understanding of the claimant’s extensive history, along with his review of post- and pre-injury records and diagnostic study films supporting no post-traumatic abnormalities. Based upon this strong medical expert testimony, the judge limited the claimant’s claim to a period of three months only, despite the claim for ongoing total disability, and did not expand the claimant’s nature of injury to include a herniated disc in the lumbar spine. In addition to expert deposition testimony, surveillance was also submitted and accepted, which demonstrated the claimant’s activities contrary to any ongoing disability and, more importantly and just as significant, were extensive medical records demonstrating that the claimant downplayed her prior injuries and her complaints, completely inconsistent with the actual medical records.  Further, the judge recognized the defense’s cross-examination of the claimant’s medical expert, particularly with respect to his credentials, analysis of the MRI and lack of identifying a herniated disc diagnosis in all of his medical records, yet testifying to same in an effort to support the claimant’s allegations of this description of injury.   

We successfully prosecuted a termination petition on behalf of a well-known hospital and defended the claimant’s petition for review to expand the nature of the accepted injury. The injury was accepted as a right distal bicep strain, which included a partial tear that resulted in surgery. The claimant asserted the injury should be expanded to also include right carpal tunnel, right elbow sprain and trigger fingers. A detailed cross-examination of the claimant established the complaints referable to right carpal and trigger fingers began six months after the injury, which was corroborated by the claimant’s treating physician’s records. The IME expert, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with specialized training in hand surgery, had the opportunity to perform a comprehensive physical examination and review the diagnostic studies, post- and pre-injury medical records, and the claimant’s family physician’s records. This review revealed non-work-related carpal tunnel risk factor conditions, including obesity, post-menopausal, non-insulin dependent diabetes and testing for hypothyroidism. It was further argued that the claimant’s medical expert did not have expertise in the surgery involved in the case and failed to review the claimant’s testimony and diagnostic films. Ultimately, the judge found the defense medical expert competent, credible and persuasive.

We successfully defeated a workers’ compensation appeal involving a claim penalty/termination petition on behalf of a worldwide youth adult development organization. ​A Medical Only Notice of Compensation Payable acknowledged liability for a skull contusion and denied any associated disability. The claimant alleged injuries to the cervical spine, head, eyes, a concussion and post concussive syndrome, resulting in total disability. It was the claimant’s position that the judge failed to render a well-reasoned decision in favoring the opinions of the three defense expert doctors and seven fact witnesses who challenged the mechanism of injury as well as disability. The Appeal Board concluded that the judge summarized the relevant evidence, rendered credibility determinations, provided objective explanations for those credibility determinations and was justified in granting the termination petition.

We successfully prosecuted a termination petition on behalf of a national water company. ​After securing all prior medical records, the defense  uncovered a past medical history of similar complaints and treatment, and a later fall that was not disclosed by the claimant. After questioning, the claimant admitted to the nature and extent of his prior treatment, including office visits, prescription medication and MRIs, which supported our contention that his prior complaints were virtually identical. The workers’ compensation judge found that the claimant was not credible because his testimony contradicted the defense medical expert. Additionally, the judge found the defense medical expert to be competent, credible, persuasive and showed that the claimant was fully recovered from his work injuries, the resulting three surgeries, and all residuals. As such, the termination petition was granted.

We successfully defended a worldwide youth development organization in litigation surrounding an employee fall at work. ​The claimant allegedly fell after walking into an object that he claimed had a metal connector that struck his head, causing his glasses to fall off. He claimed temporary total disability. He was diagnosed with orthopedic, neurologic and neuro-ophthalmologic injuries, including but not limited to the neck, eyes, skull contusion, concussion and post-concussive syndrome. The employer captured the incident on video. Due to the questionable mechanism of injury, the defense convinced the workers’ compensation judge to travel to the employer's location to view the actual video of the incident. The employer presented multiple fact witnesses who corroborated the video and lack of disability. Based upon the video and the credible testimony of the fact witnesses, the judge found only a head contusion and no disability, and no liability for the claimant's extensive litigation costs.