 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State ex rel LTV Steel Co. v. Industrial Commission3/24/1999
[Cite as State ex rel. LTV Steel Co. v. Indus. Comm. (1999), ___ Ohio St.3d ___.]
Workers' compensation - Signature-stamped physician's report constitutes a signed report that may be relied upon by the Industrial Commission in deciding whether to award compensation.
Submitted July 15, 1998
This case revolves around the reports H.W. Kang, M.D., prepared on behalf of appellant, George Grecu ("claimant"), for his workers' compensation claims. Nearly all of Dr. Kang's reports were authenticated with a signature stamp. These reports also contained the stamped statement, "Signed in my absence to avoid delay in mailing." The appellate court considered the reports to be unsigned, and found that the reports therefore could not constitute evidence upon which the commission could award compensation.
Claimant sustained two injuries while employed by relator, LTV Steel Company ("LTV"). On July 18, 1966, claimant sustained an injury while working as a saw operator. His claim for workers' compensation was recognized for "lumbar region of the back, herniated disc L5, left side" in claim No. 430329-22. Over the years, the extent of claimant's permanent partial disability attributable to his 1966 injury worsened from twenty-five percent to forty-two percent by 1991.
Claimant's second claim for workers' compensation, claim No. 980508-22, resulted from an injury he suffered on July 9, 1988. He was working as a power dispatcher doing sedentary work, but tripped and fell, injuring his left shoulder and right knee. The claim was recognized for "sprain, left shoulder with possible rotator cuff tear; aggravation L5 radiculitits , left; contusion right knee." Claimant received temporary total disability compensation for a number of months. He then returned to his power dispatcher position, which involved the monitoring of meters and gauges.
In April 1989, claimant remained at his power dispatcher position when Republic Engineered Steels, Inc. ("Republic") took over the LTV plant. Dr. Kang examined claimant on March 6, 1990 and prepared a report dated March 20, 1990. The report was signed with a signature stamp, and contained the stamped statement, "Signed in my absence to avoid delay in mailing." Dr. Kang stated in the report:
"I have been treating George Grecu for many years for the above industrial injuries. He was last examined on March 6, 1990. He was about the same, right knee osteoarthritis, back degenerative changes, spondylosis and spinal stenosis. "As far as the back is concerned, he is 65% permanent partial. As far as shoulder is concerned, he has an additional 35%. His overall percentage of disability is 100%. I do not believe that he will ever recover sufficiently to return to the work force in any capacity."
Despite the fact that Dr. Kang opined that claimant could never return to the work force, claimant was in fact working at Republic at the time of the report. Dr. Kang issued another report, authenticated in the same manner as the March 20, 1990 report, on May 22, 1990. In that report, Dr. Kang stated:
"George Grecu has terrible degeneration of the spine, severe spondylosis, limited range of motion in the back, positive neurological deficit, continuous pain, and requires assistance for activities of daily living. Therefore, he has a permanent partial disability of 65% for the back. His shoulder rang of motion is 30% of normal, weakness is 50% of normal, and he has constant pain. Therefore his percentage of parmanent partial disability is 35%."
On June 6, 1990, in a signed report, Dr. Kang again stated that claimant was permanently and totally disabled. In that report, Dr. Kang recog
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ohio Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|