Skip to main content

Exit WCAG Theme

Switch to Non-ADA Website

Accessibility Options

Select Text Sizes

Select Text Color

Website Accessibility Information Close Options
Close Menu
Morizio Law Firm, P.C. Helping Injured Workers in Connecticut
  • Free Consultation Available
  • ~
  • Hablamos Español

Are the Results of a “Commissioner’s Exam” Binding in a Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Case?

WorkersComp2

When seeking workers’ compensation benefits, the doctors hired by your employer may disagree with your own physician’s diagnosis regarding the cause of your injury or illness. If this disagreement persists into a formal hearing, the Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commissioner can ask you to submit to a separate exam by an independent third doctor. This “Commissioner’s Exam” can help resolve the deadlock. But is the Commissioner legally required to accept the independent examiner’s views?

Review Board: Commissioner May Believe Testimony of Employee Over Examiner

The short answer is “no.” The Commissioner ultimately weighs all of the available medical evidence and decides which testimony is the most credible. In some cases, this means agreeing with the injured employee and their physician’s assessment.

A recent decision from the Compensation Review Board, which handles workers’ compensation appeals in Connecticut, provides a useful example of this principle. In this case, Smith v. Regalcare at Waterbury, LLC, an employee suffered a knee injury while working for the employer. Specifically, the employee was taking a break in the lobby of the employer’s offices. When she attempted to sit down on a couch in the lobby, she “felt and heard her right knee pop,” according to the Board’s decision.

The employee’s primary-care doctor later determined that she had suffered a torn meniscus in her right knee. Eventually, this injury required surgery. Both the primary-care physician and the surgeon who performed the operation agreed the meniscus tear was a work-related injury.

A physician retained by the employer disagreed. He initially said it was unclear whether the knee injury was work-related or the result of a preexisting condition. Later, the employer’s physician amended his findings to more conclusively state that the employee’s right knee problems “were developmental, preexisting, and unrelated to the work-related incident” in the lobby.

The Commissioner decided that an independent examination was necessary. The commissioner’s examiner ultimately said it was “likely [the employee] had a degenerative tear that was preexisting that became symptomatic for which attention was appropriately rendered.” In other words, the examiner believed the employee’s need for the knee surgery was not work-related.

Despite this finding, the Commissioner awarded workers’ compensation benefits to the employee. The Commissioner found the testimony of the employee and her treating physicians “credible and persuasive.” Conversely, the Commissioner did not find the independent examiner’s opinion persuasive.

On appeal to the Board, the employer argued the Commissioner must accept the views of her own examiner and reject the employee’s claim. But the Board said its own prior decisions allow the commissioner “to accept the opinion of a treating physician over that of a commissioner’s examiner.” It is the commissioner’s job to weigh the credibility of witnesses. And if the Commissioner decides “not to accept the opinion of a commissioner’s examiner they generally should proffer a reason why they found another expert more persuasive,” which she did in this case.

Speak with a Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Today

Workers’ compensation disputes usually turn on the expert opinions of doctors. A board-certified Stratford workers’ compensation attorney can help ensure the Commissioner receives the strongest possible medical evidence in support of your claim. If you need representation in any workers’ compensation matter, contact the Morizio Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

wcc.state.ct.us/crb/2020/6316crb.htm

https://www.moriziolawfirm.com/federal-legislation-could-provide-compensation-for-covid-19-front-line-workers/

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

We Are With You Every Step of The Way

Discuss your
case for free
  • Give us a call. We will be happy to conduct your intake. (en Español si Usted prefere)
  • Tell us about your workplace accident and your injuries.
  • If we’re a good match for your case, come into our office and meet with Attorney Lawrence Morizio.
We take over your claim
  • Pay nothing upfront.
  • Feel confident with a Board-Certified Workers’ Compensation Attorney with over 25 years’ experience in your corner.
  • You are assigned your own paralegal to answer all of your questions, whenever you have them, via text, email or phone.
  • No fee until your case is wrapped up.
We deal with the insurance company
  • You no longer have to deal with the adjuster. We respond to every request on your behalf.
  • We maximize your entitlement to benefits and secure authorization for all necessary medical treatment.
  • We address all unresolved and contested issues in court at hearings before the presiding Administrative Law Judge.
You get the outcome >you deserve
  • Ditch the stress & focus on your recovery.
  • Get the final compensation you’re entitled to.
  • We help you get back to normal & living your best life.

Board Certified Specialist will contact you directly

By submitting this form I acknowledge that form submissions via this website do not create an attorney-client relationship, and any information I send is not protected by attorney-client privilege.

Skip footer and go back to main navigation