Thomas M. Hickman v. Oak Park School District

The Arbitrator found that the petitioner’s current condition of ill-being was only partially medically causally related to the alleged accident. Specifically, the Arbitrator believed that the petitioner’s degenerative knee condition was unrelated to his fall and that his bone on bone arthritis was due to a prior meniscus tear and arthritis from 1986. The petitioner was 10% loss of use of the right leg.

Relative to the payment of temporary total disability benefits, the petitioner sought approximately 85 weeks of benefits. The Arbitrator sided with the independent medical examiner’s opinions that the petitioner’s right knee pain and need for medical care was due to his chronic long-standing, progressive, degenerative arthritis and that there was no evidence that the alleged accident, caused, aggravated or contributed to any symptoms or his need for treatment. The Arbitrator only awarded the period of TTD that had already been paid prior to the IME, or approximately 20 weeks.

As the Arbitrator found that the petitioner had reached maximum medical improvement as of the IME date, the respondent realized a savings relative to any claims for future medical and in particular any claims that the petitioner’s total knee replacement surgery was medically causally connected to the alleged accident. This of course acted as a safeguard against any future Section 8(a) petition seeking future medical care and treatment under this claim.

As the petitioner sought payment in excess of $130,000.00 (TTD and 60% of a leg), this decision came at with considerable savings to the respondent well over $110,000.00 when the he was only awarded 10% of a leg. Additionally, if the Arbitrator had found in favor for the petitioner that his current condition of ill-being was medically causally related to the alleged accident, we would have had ongoing exposure for the payment of future medical, including that of a total knee replacement. Petitioner did not appeal.