Court Decisions

This page lists selected workers’ compensation decisions in chronological order. Except where otherwise noted, all cases are decisions of the Appellate Division of the Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Court.

 

Case Type:  Going and Coming Rule
Nancy Almeida v. Blackstone Valley Advocacy (January, 2008)

Benefits were denied to an employee who was injured in a car accident on her way to work.  The employee was "on call" during a weekend when she was not regularly scheduled to work.  Being "on call" required her to respond to all pages on her beeper and cover any shifts as necessary.  While "on call", she received a call to cover a shift at work.  The employee was involved in a car accident while en route to work in response to the call.  The court denied benefits based on the "going and coming rule" which generally precludes compensation to employees who are injured in the course of a commute to work.  The case includes a dissenting opinion from a judge who would have granted benefits based on a "special errand" exception to the rule.  Read full decision  

Case Type:  Idiopathic Fall                                                                 Patricia A. Ward v. K-Mart (May, 2007)

Court denied benefits to an employee who fell at work and fractured her ankle.  The court ruled that her fall was "idiopathic" meaning that it was caused by her own personal physical condition and was not related to any condition of employment even though it occurred at work. Read full decision  

Case Type:  Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)                                         City of Pawtucket v. Michael Pimental (March, 2007)

Court ruled that the employee had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) even though surgery had been recommended by his doctor.  The Court ruled that there was no further treatment that would improve the employee's condition because he had refused to have the surgery and was therefore at MMI.  Benefits were also reduced to 70% of the regular compensation rate because the employee was at MMI and had made no effort to find a job.   Read full decision                            

Case Type: Aggravation of Pre-existing condition
Winifred Wood v. Aramark Food Services (January, 2007)

Benefits awarded for aggravation of pre-existing neck condition where employee had complaints of neck pain before work injury.  The Court ruled that the injury at work aggravated pre-existing osteoarthritis in the neck and resulted in the need for surgery.  Read full decision

Case Type:  Continuation of Benefits                                                  Josefina Donahue v. Ross Simons (May, 2006)

Court denied continuation of benefits beyond six years of partial disability payments.  The injured worker had a back injury with limitations of no lifting over ten pounds, no repeated bending or twisting and no sitting for more than thirty minutes at a time.  She had been looking for work with no success.  Court heard testimony from three vocational counselors with differing opinions as to the injured worker's ability to find suitable employment.  Court relied on the vocational counselor who testified that there were a significant number of jobs available in the community that the injured worker could do and that she had the ability to compete for those jobs with a legitimate opportunity to be hired.  Read full decision

Case Type: Psychological Injury
Artecia Price v. Bess Eaton (January, 2006)

Benefits awarded for a psychological injury where the mental disorder (post-traumatic stress disorder) was caused or accompanied by a physical injury (neck injury caused by physical assault). Although the employee had a past history of psychiatric treatment and traumatic events which may have made her more susceptible to psychological problems, the Court held that this did not preclude an award of benefits based on evidence that the assault triggered the psychological disorder. In so ruling, the Court referred to the long-standing premise that an employer takes its employees as it finds them, with whatever preexisting conditions or predispositions they may have. Read full decision

Case Type: Continuation of Benefits
Maria Silva Cabral v. Crystal Brands (November, 2005)

Court denied continuation of benefits beyond six years of partial disability payments. Court ruled that age, education, and training are not considered in determining whether the injured worker’s partial disability poses a material hindrance to obtaining employment; only the physical restrictions of the injured worker’s work related injury are considered in making such a determination. Read full decision

Case Type: Odd Lot Statute
Azadouhi Torossian v. Quality Cleaners (October, 2005)

Injured worker who was partially disabled due to physical effects of injury was awarded total disability benefits pursuant to odd lot statute based on evidence that she is unemployable due to her injury combined with her age, limited education, past work and lack of transferable skills, and difficulty communicating in English. Read full decision

Case Type: Reinstatement to Employment
Elizabeth Norton v. Browne & Sharpe, Mfg. (October, 2005)

Court denied reinstatement based on evidence that injured workers’ position was no longer available and there was no other vacant position that was available and suitable. Read full decision

Cast Type: Fraud
Marriott c/o Providence Schools v. Carmelo D’Anzi (September, 2005)

Injured worker was observed performing tasks at private club while under surveillance by private investigators. Court dismissed allegation of fraud where there was no evidence of wages earned by injured worker and no evidence that injured worker intended to defraud court or intentionally misrepresent his condition. Read full decision

Case Type: Maximum Medical Improvement/End of Disability
GTech Corporation v. Michelle A. Pizzitola (June, 2005)

To prove an end of disability after an injured worker has been found to be at maximum medical improvement, an employer/insurance company must prove that the injured workers’ condition has “substantially improved” since the date of the MMI finding. This requires medical testimony comparing the injured workers’ condition at the time of the MMI finding to his/her present condition. Read full decision

Case Type: Hepatitis
Raphael Carter v. The Housing Authority of the City of Cranston (May, 2005)

 Injured worker was changing a trash container when he was stuck by a needle used to administer medicine that was in the trash bag. He was diagnosed with Hepatitis C three years later. Benefits were awarded based on medical evidence that the disease was caused by the needlestick three years earlier. Read full decision

Case Type: Suitable Alternative Employment
Brown University v. Manual Santos (March, 2005)

Benefits were reduced for injured worker who accepted offer of suitable alternative employment but stopped working four months later. Court found that injured worker did not have valid grounds for leaving the job in light of evidence that there was no change in his condition from the date when he first began the job and his doctor never said that he was physically incapable of continuing to work. Read full decision