McDonald Decision

Tony McDonald v. CP&O, LLC.

BRB No.: 11-0735

(June 28, 2012)
Issue: Claimant appealed the Decision of the ALJ, who determined that Claimant did not establish that he suffered an independent leg injury on September 21, 2006. His entitlement to temporary partial disability benefits for the requested periods were denied because he failed to establish that he suffered an economic loss.
Finding: REMAND. Benefits Review Board agreed with Claimant that the ALJ did not fully consider the relevant evidence as to whether Claimant was disabled as of September 9, 2007, specifically, that he did not address testimonial evidence. Moreover, the BRB found that although the ALJ found that neither the opinion of Dr. Wardell or Dr. Rodrigue supports Claimant’s claim, the ALJ did not fully explain his inference that the disability back pain Claimant experienced in 2008 was due to something other than the work injury.
Conclusion: On remand, the ALJ must make explicit findings as to whether Claimant’s complaints of pain are credible and whether Claimant established that at any time after September 8, 2007 he could not perform his usual work due to his work injury.