Ellington v. Health Services of Ocoee, LLC / Premier Group Insurance

W. Rogers Turner, Jr.

JCC Sojourner (Orlando)(8-26-19 (Denied return appointment to authorized physician based on MCC. The claimant injured her left elbow and wrist, and was eventually authorized to treat with Dr. Riggenbach as a 1x change. Dr. Riggenbach was deposed on two occasions. Initially, Dr. Riggenbach recommended physical therapy, an MRI of the left wrist and prescribed a sling for the left arm. The MRI revealed indeterminate tenosynovitis of the flexor tendons and some soft tissue edema. After showing improvement from physical therapy, Dr. Riggenbach told the claimant to stop using the sling. Eventually, the claimant sought additional treatment for pain in the left hand. Dr. Riggenbach opined that the stiffness in the claimant’s left hand was due to lack of use and her elbow injury had resolved. During the second deposition, Dr. Riggenbach testified that the claimant never informed him of a 2015 MVA with left arm treatment and neck treatment. The claimant had an EMG conducted after the 2015 MVA, but before the underlying accident occurred. After reviewing the results of this EMG, Dr. Riggenbach opined that the claimant did not require further treatment as a result of the underlying accident, but that additional care may be necessary resulting from the MVA. The Claimant’s IME, Dr. Martinez, was informed of a 2013 MVA, but had not reviewed any records from the 2015 MVA. Still, the IME opined that the claimant’s left arm complaints occurred as a result of the underlying accident. The JCC found Dr. Riggenbach’s opinion to be more informed than Dr. Martinez’s, since only Dr. Riggenbach was able to review the medical records from the 2015 MVA prior to rendering his opinion. The JCC denied additional medical treatment in this claim.
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