Joe Miller Wins VA Workers Comp Hearing for Man Who had Neck Surgery
October, 2014, Virginia Beach, VA. Joe Miller won another hearing before a deputy Commissioner of the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission for a 47-year old property maintenance worker who was injured when he fell back on a cart and injured his neck. The defendants denied the claim due to the fact that the claimant did not initially report or treat the injury as a work injury. The claimant’s initial reports to the ER did not mention a work injury. The claimant just knew that he had neck and arm pain which was getting worse and worse. The claimant eventually saw an Orthopedic Surgeon, approximately two months after the incident. After ordering and reviewing a neck MRI, the Orthopedic Surgeon concluded that the claimant had suffered a severe traumatic injury to his neck that needed surgery. When questioned about how the claimant could have injured his neck, the claimant recalled how he had fallen on the cart at work two months prior. A deposition of the Orthopedic Surgeon was taken to obtain the proper opinions to prove the claim and after reading the deposition and hearing the testimony of the claimant and other witnesses, the Deputy Commissioner Awarded the claimant his back pay for almost a year as well as payment for ongoing medical treatment.