Goldberg Segalla attorney Samantha J. Spicer secured an excellent result on permanency for a food service company in a recent Workers’ Compensation case.

The claimant was a dishwasher who sustained an injury to the left hand and left ring finger.  The treating provider opined a 45-percent Scheduled Loss of Use — or SLU — to the left hand and our Independent Medical Examination opined 55 percent to the left ring finger.

The judge directed testimony of the doctors and the claimant’s treating doctor was not compliant with our requests to take his testimony. Samantha, a Hartford-based attorney in our firm’s Workers’ Compensation practice group, and paralegal Lauren Pisarek, issued multiple subpoenas and demonstrated our extensive efforts to get the doctor to testify.

Claimant counsel challenged the sufficiency of the subpoenas, but the law judge found the subpoenas sufficient, determined that our efforts to get the doctor’s testimony was sufficient as well, and precluded the treating doctor’s reports for failure to testify. The judge thus implemented the IME’s opinion, and a far smaller award to the claimant.

Samantha’s zealous advocacy for her client highlights that persistence in getting an unhelpful doctor’s testimony will be rewarded.