Benefits awarded for patella fracture despite preexisting arthritis

A treating surgeon's testimony -- that the plaintiff's broken patella, sustained in a work accident, made the plaintiff's overall, preexisting, arthritic knee condition significantly worse and generated pain even after it healed -- is sufficient to support a magistrate's determination that work caused the plaintiff's disability.

Case name: Rehmann v. Adecco Inc., 22 MIWCLR 223 (Mich. W.C.A.C. 2008).

Ruling: The Michigan Workers' Compensation Appellate Commission upheld a magistrate's decision granting benefits for the plaintiff's fractured patella, even though the plaintiff had considerable preexisting arthritis in the knee.

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Summary: A magistrate granted benefits for the plaintiff's fractured patella, even though the plaintiff had considerable preexisting arthritis in the knee. The employer argued that the magistrate erred in finding that work events caused the plaintiff to fall and injure her knee, and that the plaintiff's broken patella caused her disability. The commission found that substantial evidence supported the magistrate's findings. The testimony of the plaintiff's surgeon linked the broken patella to the plaintiff's inability to work. Also, the surgeon repeatedly testified that the broken patella made the plaintiff's overall knee condition significantly worse and generated pain even after it healed. His testimony provided ample support for the magistrate's determination that work caused the plaintiff's disability.

January 22, 2009

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