by Matthew S. McKee
mmckee@rawle.com

Evelyn Newton v. Help Source & Rehab Solutions, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Matthew S. McKee recently obtained a favorable decision and order on March 23, 2011 from a workers’ compensation judge in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania which granted the Termination Petition and denied the Review Petition. The Judge accepted the Employer’s legal argument and determined Claimant fully recovered from her work injury.

This was a significant decision since Claimant sustained an acknowledged work injury on January 20, 2005 and she continued to receive workers’ compensation benefits. The Judge rejected Claimant’s testimony as generally not credible. The Judge accepted the testimony of the Employer’s two (2) medical experts, Dr. John Duda and Dr. Gilbert Tausch over the testimony of Claimant’s medical experts, Dr. Michael Cohen and Dr. Richard Kaplan. The Judge rejected Dr. Kaplan’s testimony regarding the nature of the work injury as not credible. Further, the Judge found Dr. Kaplan’s opinion about the work related diagnoses not credible because, in part, he did not review any diagnostic studies to support his opinion. The Judge also rejected Dr. Cohen’s testimony regarding the work injury as not credible since there was no credible evidence Claimant hit her head or lost consciousness on January 20, 2005. The Judge denied in its entirety the Review Petition. Moreover, the Judge accepted Dr. Duda’s conclusions that Claimant fully recovered from her work injury and Dr. Tausch’s opinions that Claimant did not sustain a head injury.

This favorable decision resulted in an immediate cessation of Claimant’s indemnity benefits plus Claimant’s entitlement to ongoing medical benefits were also denied by the Judge.

Matthew S. McKee has practiced in the field of workers’ compensation for more than ten years representing employers and insurance companies throughout Pennsylvania. He has developed extensive experience handling a wide range of litigation matters including motor vehicle, premises liability, products liability, medical malpractice, and workers’ compensation.  Mr. McKee is admitted to practice law in all Pennsylvania State Courts.