Knight v. Anson-Madison Ambulance Service

Name

Insurance Company

Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company

Date Decided

March 23, 2018

Panel Members

Timothy Collier

Glen Goodnough

David Hirtle

File Size

95 KB

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Summary from the Troubh Heisler Attorneys

Mr. Knight injured his back moving a patient was diagnosed with a lumbar strain which improved with chiropractic treatment. Mr. Knight then moved to Oklahoma and claimed to have continued back symptoms which he treated on his own. He then returned to Maine and to his chiropractor a year later and was taken out of work for 6 weeks. He filed petitions seeking payment for his lost time and treatment, which his pain specialist stated was related to his prior work injury. Judge Elwin rejected that opinion, however, because the specialist based his opinion on an erroneous history that Mr. Knight had continuous PT and OMT since the work injury. Anson-Madison's §207 examiner found that Mr. Knight's injury had resolved in 2013.

Judge Elwin concluded that, although Mr. Knight had injured his back at work in 2012, his symptoms in 2014 were not causally related to that injury. She granted Mr. Knight's petitions in part but did not award him any ongoing benefits, and Mr. Knight appealed. The Appellate Division sustained her decision, finding competent evidence in the record to sustain her conclusion, and holding that her task as fact finder required her to accept or reject particular expert medical opinions, especially since Mr. Knight told other doctors in 2014 that he had not had back pain "in a long time" and that his current pain started "the previous day when he leaned forward to open a dryer door."

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