Rodriguez v. Yellow Roadway Corp / Sedgwick

HR Law Cases
JCC Medina-Shore (Miami) (Brian Ricotta) (7-18-23A)- Denied PTD.  Claimant is a 66-year-old, bi-lingual Cuban immigrant. His prior work history involved driving tractor-trailers. Prior to the 8/24/21 DOA, the claimant had multiple prior injuries with the employer, but returned with the employer to full duty after each.  After the instant accident, the claimant had left shoulder surgery and was assigned a 40-pound left extremity restriction.  Post-accident, the claimant had not returned to work with the employer, nor had he found work with any other employer.  The JCC accepted the opinions of authorized physicians Drs. Meli, Gran and Rajadhyaksha over those of the claimant’s IME (Hodor), including that any cervical or lumbar strains were resolved.  The JCC accepted the E/C’s vocational expert (Sullivan) over the claimant’s expert (Filpes), and noted his opinions identified eight jobs within the claimant’s restrictions which would require little to no vocational adjustment.  The JCC found the claimant was capable of engaging in at least sedentary work within a 50-mile radius of his residence given his physical restrictions and that he did not conduct a lengthy and exhaustive job search.  Finally, the JCC found that his restrictions combined with vocational factors did not preclude at least sedentary employment, and thus did not qualify for PTD under the Blake-Merck analysis.   Click here to view Order