Jury Rules in Favor of Employer and Insurer on PG County Slip and Fall Case
In late Fall 2022, F&P counsel Brian Cunningham obtained a favorable outcome in a PG County Circuit Court slip and fall jury trial case.
On September 17, 2019, the claimant slipped on a roll of tape while working for a remediation company, causing injury. She was seen at the emergency room, diagnosed with a left knee sprain, and then released from care. The following day, she submitted a claim to the Commission and on September 19, 2019, began treatment with a private provider who diagnosed the claimant with injuries to both the left knee and the back. The employer and insurer accepted the injury to the left knee but contested the injury to the back. The claimant continued to receive treatment and benefits. An Independent Medical Examination (IME) was obtained, and the claimant was placed at maximum medical improvement. Based on the IME report, benefits were terminated. Issues were filed by the claimant, and a hearing was held following a hearing before the Commission. The Commission after hearing all evidence issued an Order finding the claimant had reached maximum medical improvement for her left knee, denied the request for temporary total disability benefits, and ruled the alleged back injury not causally related to the accidental injury. The claimant appealed the decision.
On November 30, 2022, the parties appeared before the Prince George’s County Circuit Court and selected a jury to decide the matter. The claimant had been seeking a finding that she was suffering an injury to her back from the September 17, 2019, accident, and the treatment rendered to her back following the accident was causally related, and she sought temporary total disability benefits from June 21, 2020, to April 12, 2021. Following almost an hour of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the employer and insurer on all counts. The back injury was found not causally related, treatment was found not causally related, and the request for almost 17 months of indemnity benefits was denied.
For more information contact John J. Handscomb.