Doyle Sues Safety National and Matrix For Withholding Worker’s Comp Benefits After Nurse Endures Botched Surgery
On behalf of plaintiff, Doyle LLP filed suit against Safety National Casualty Corporation (“Safety National”), Matrix Absence Management, Inc., (“Matrix”), and the assigned adjuster for their combined efforts in delaying and denying proper worker’s compensations benefits.
On June 4, 2009, our client tore her left meniscus while at work as a full-time nurse for the Yuma Regional Medical Center. Initially, the defendants responded to her claim appropriately, providing payments for surgery and the weeks of physical therapy that followed. Afterwards however, she began experiencing excruciating pain in the area, along with weakness and significant muscle atrophy above the knee.
Apparently deciding that they had paid all that they ever wanted to pay for needed medical care, the defendants sent our client to an Independent Medical Examiner (IME) who provided cortisone injections and concluded the knee “just needs time to heal.” The adjuster then closed the case, noting only a 2% disability. Our client continued facing pain that greatly restricted her ability to walk or engage in any activity requiring normal movement capabilities. Two years later, client’s personal physician discovered that a non-absorbable device from the initial surgery was left inside her knee.
The adjuster responded by requiring her to see yet another IME, who again performed an inadequate examination and determined there was nothing present hindering mobility. In violation of the duty of good faith and fair dealing owed to beneficiaries of worker’s compensation, the defendants failed to consider medical reports favorable to our client and used the IME’s report and other procedural methods to prevent reopening the case and providing proper benefits.
The initial surgery was scheduled for January of 2013, but the defendants refused authorization or payment until the Industrial Commission of Arizona ordered Safety National to provide those benefits. Even after this order, the defendants further suspended treatment by requesting reconsideration of the award. Fifteen months after the initial request, our client finally received authorization for her much needed surgery.
Not only did each delay and denial cause agonizing emotional and physical pain, but the crippling condition significantly reduced our client’s ability to work the number of hours she had previously, which continues to cause financial turmoil.
This client’s years of suffering will not go unheard. The worker’s compensation bad faith lawyers of Doyle LLP understand the challenges faced by injured workers and are accustomed to successfully countering the insurance industry’s attempts to escape liability. If you have been subjected to improper delays and denials by a workers compensation insurer in Arizona, we can help. Contact Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers LLP today to learn of your possible paths of relief.