Operator Gets Ruling That Employer’s Expert, Dr. Singh, Is Biased Against Workers ($500,000)
A Local 150 Union Operating Engineer recovered $500,000.00 after suffering injuries to the back and neck, which resulted from a workplace accident.
The Case
The operating engineer slipped and fell on oil. As a result, he filed a worker’s compensation claim.
In-Depth Look
In defending the case, the employer, G.A. Blocker, through its insurance carrier, hired Dr. Singh. Dr. Singh testified that the operator wasn’t disabled from his job and in fact, could return to full work (even though a Functional Capacity Exam (FCE)) showed that he could not return to work as an operator).
Mark Weissburg cross-examined Dr. Singh at trial and demonstrated contradictions to such a degree that the arbitrator made a unique ruling in writing that Dr. Singh was biased against the petitioner. As a result, the decision has been used by many other lawyers from the other law firms to prove that Dr. Singh is biased against working men and women. The court awarded petitioner the maximum wage loss permitted under the WC law and more than $80,000.00 in penalties against the employer for defending the case “without any rational basis.” The case eventually settled for $500,000.00.