An Ohio appellate court Thursday reversed a summary judgment that had blocked a juvenile corrections officer from pursuing additional allowances in a workers compensation claim, ruling that he presented enough evidence for trial on whether a workplace incident “substantially aggravated” preexisting conditions.
In Taye v. Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Corr. Facility, the dispute centered on whether the claimant met Ohio’s requirements for establishing a “substantial aggravation” of a preexisting condition.
The worker, a juvenile corrections officer, suffered an injury in an April 2021 work incident, and his claim was allowed for multiple sprains. He later sought additional allowances for substantial aggravation of a partial rotator cuff tear and shoulder impingement. The Industrial Commission disallowed the additional conditions, finding insufficient objective evidence.
The worker appealed that decision in court, where the employer argued thatthe claimant lacked pre-injury medical documentation establishing the baseline status of the alleged preexisting condition. The employer won summary judgment.
The Eighth District Court of Appeals rejected the employer’s argument, though, reiterating that state law requires substantial aggravation to be documented by objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings or objective test results and does not impose a separate requirement that the preexisting condition be medically documented before the work incident.
The ruling pointed to “sufficient” evidence submitted by the claimant’s treating chiropractor, including positive objective clinical tests shortly after the incident and an MRI later showing degenerative changes, along with testimony and an affidavit opining that the work incident substantially aggravated the preexisting condition.
The case was remanded for further proceedings.