Goodrich v. Centerpoint Energy, No. WC20-6339, (W.C.C.A. December 22, 2020). The employee worked as a service technician for Centerpoint Energy. These assignments required crawling, bending, and twisting to access confined spaces to reach pipes and appliances, as well as lifting and moving of appliances.  According to the job description from the employer, lifting 75 pounds on a regular basis was...

Michael W. Mucker v. Metro Transit, No. WC19-6286 (October 24, 2019) The employee was involved in a motor vehicle accident in 2004 with a different employer. He sustained cervical injuries and ultimately underwent a cervical decompression, discectomy, and fusion. Dr. Larkins conducted an IME in 2004 and opined the employee had pre-exiting myelomalacia and stenosis conditions which were aggravated by...

Farrell v. St. Paul Café, et. al. WC19-6249 (June 4, 2019) The employee sustained an admitted work injury in 2004 and was declared permanently and totally disabled via an Award on Stipulation for Settlement in 2016. Previously in 2013, a judge had signed an Award on Stipulation in 2013 which closed vocational rehabilitation and retraining. Subsequent to that 2013 Stipulation, the employer and insurer...

Brandon Beager v. N. Valley, Inc., et. al., No. WC19-6262 (W.C.C.A. May 15, 2019) The employee successfully petitioned to vacate a previous award on stipulation. The attorney for the employee now seeks fees for representing the employee in the petition to vacate. A pro-se employee settled his claim at mediation on a full, final, and complete basis. He later hired an attorney seeking to vacate that...

Tami L. Petrie v. Todd County, No. WC18-6176 (W.C.C.A. November 19, 2018). The employee in this case filed a Claim Petition asserting PTSD stemming from several altercations with inmates while working as a correctional officer. The employee received a diagnosis from her primary care MD that she “clearly had” PTSD. She also underwent counseling sessions with Greta Kramer, M.S. who diagnosed her...

Valerie Winstead v. Martin Luther Manor, WC18-6191 (January 16, 2019) The employee sustained an alleged injury on March 10, 2017 for which primary liability was denied by the employer and insurer. The employee’s attorney filed a claim petition seeking “vocational services” and reserving “rehabilitation expert” as a witness. A rehabilitation request was simultaneously filed by the employee’s...

Janet Hufnagel v. Deer River Health Care, WC17-6057 (July 18, 2018) The employee filed a workers’ compensation claim in 2015 for work-related aggravations to a low-back condition that resulted in an admitted injury in 2009. When the employee sought benefits for the later aggravations, the 2009 employer and insurer denied liability, asserting the 2014 and 2015 aggravations were subsequent injuries....

Little v. Menards, WC17-6036 (July 27, 2017) The employee experienced a sudden onset of right shoulder pain unrelated to his employment in December 2011 and was ultimately diagnosed with a right shoulder rotator cuff tear. The employee underwent surgery in January 2012. The employee treated chiropractically from July 2012 through November 2012 for left shoulder pain related to a fall at home. The employee...

Hanson v. Elec. Builders, Inc., et. al. No. WC16-5987 (W.C.C.A. Feb. 3, 2017) The employee was a 49 year old electrician who sustained an admitted Gillette cervical injury on July 30, 2013. The employee had a history of some prior neck and back treatment in 2006 with his chiropractor Dr. Benson. He was diagnosed with segmented dysfunction in 2012 by Dr. Benson. The employee returned in June 2013 and...

Ryan v. Potlatch Corporation, (July 13, 2016) No. WC14-5782 The employee attempted to bring a claim petition for a back injury with consequential depression and anxiety arising out of a back injury, with respect to which she had previously entered into a full, final, and complete settlement. The employee sustained a low back injury in the course and scope of her work with Potlatch which culminated...

Sandberg v. State Dept. of Human Services, No. WC15-5890 (May 5, 2016) The employee appealed an order from a compensation judge dismissing her claim petition, filed in 2009, which alleged entitlement to benefits arising out of work injuries she sustained. In 2012, a compensation judge issued an order striking the case from the active trial calendar. In 2013, notice was sent to the parties advising...

Zillmer v. Lamb, No. WC15-5899 (June 6, 2016) The employee was injured while driving as a personal care attendant for three minor autistic children. The mother manages care services for her children through public funds dispensed to the minor children for services, wages, and goods through Ramsey County and the Department of Human Services. The contract was changed for tax purposes, so that the minor...

Ryan v. Potlatch Corp., No. WC14-5782 (July 31, 2015) This case arises out of an appeal by the employer regarding the interpretation the effect of a stipulation for settlement on conditions not contemplated by the parties at the time of the stipulation. The compensation judge determined the previous stipulation need not be vacated for the employee to bring a claim for benefits for such a condition,...

Dunker v. Securitas Sec. Servs. USA, Inc, No. WC14-5780 (June 25, 2015) This case arises out of an appeal by the employer from a compensation judge’s determination that Minnesota jurisdiction exists for the employee’s work injury in Wisconsin. The employee was injured while working for Securitas at a job site in Wisconsin in April of 2013. The employee was living in Minnesota in March of 2014 when...

Petersen v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 492, No. WC14-5771 (June 25, 2015) This case arises out of an appeal by the employee from a compensation judge’s findings that the employee sustained a temporary aggravation of a pre-existing condition, that the injury had resolved by March of 2012, and any medical treatment after that date was not causally related to the injury. The employee sustained a left shoulder...

Schramel v. Belgrade Nursing Home, et. al., No. WC14-5749 (May 21, 2015) This matter concerned an appeal of the compensation judge’s determination that the employee sustained a permanent injury to her low back and SI joints, the treatment was reasonable and necessary, the employee was entitled to rehab benefits, and the employee was temporarily and totally disabled from October 13, 2012 through the...