CompFox AI Summary
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed a prior award granting Richard Sellers temporary disability indemnity for his bilateral knee and low back injuries sustained in 2001. The defendant challenged nearly three and a half years of this award, arguing the applicant reached permanent and stationary status earlier based on an Agreed Medical Examiner's (AME) opinion. However, the Board found the treating physician's opinion, supported by the successful surgical outcome, constituted substantial evidence of ongoing temporary disability. The Board was not bound by the AME's opinion, especially given discrepancies in findings and the eventual authorization of surgery that resolved the applicant's symptoms.
Full Decision Text1 Pages
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed a prior award granting Richard Sellers temporary disability indemnity for his bilateral knee and low back injuries sustained in 2001. The defendant challenged nearly three and a half years of this award, arguing the applicant reached permanent and stationary status earlier based on an Agreed Medical Examiner's (AME) opinion. However, the Board found the treating physician's opinion, supported by the successful surgical outcome, constituted substantial evidence of ongoing temporary disability. The Board was not bound by the AME's opinion, especially given discrepancies in findings and the eventual authorization of surgery that resolved the applicant's symptoms.
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