Client: St. Peter’s University Hospital & PMA
Court: Workers’ Compensation
Trial/Brief Attorney: Jennifer A. Cottell, Esq.
**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**
Matter Caption: Jennifer McCall v. St. Peter’s University Hospital
The Petitioner, an x-ray technician, alleged that the weight of her lead vest during procedures over a 13-year period caused her neck and back injuries requiring multiple surgeries to her cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. She alleged total disability and if she was awarded total disability, would be entitled to nearly $1.5 million dollars.
A nurse who worked with the Petitioner for many years testified on the Respondent’s behalf and contradicted key facts, particularly that the lead vest weighed half of what the Petitioner told her medical experts and that the Petitioner did not wear the lead vest as much as she alleged. Even the Petitioner’s own surgeons completed short and long-term disability documents attesting that the spinal injuries were not work-related, and the Petitioner relied on them to obtain private disability benefits, which she continued to receive while prosecuting the workers’ compensation claim.
The Judge found that the Petitioner’s experts lacked credibility because their opinions were based on inaccurate information, unsupported by objective medical evidence and failed to account for subsequent intervening accidents. The Judge determined that the Petitioner failed to prove that her work duties were “peculiar” as required by N.J.S.A. 34: 15-31 and case law defining causes and conditions which would entitle the Petitioner to an award based on an occupational exposure.
