- Injuries: Herniated back injuries
- Settlement: Awarded total and permanent disability, lost wages and reasonable medical treatment for the remainder of life
- Date: October, 2011
- Work Injury, Trial Attorney
A well known and long time established restaurant owner from the Springfield, MA area was seriously injured while working. The insurance company placed him initially on temporary total disability which an injured employee can only legally collect for 3 years. Following the exhaustion of those benefits, his former attorney conceded with the insurance company to place the Employee on partial disability. I would NOT have conceded and would have had a trial on the extent of his total disability at that time. Employee subsequently exhausted these benefits which he can legally collect for 4 years. When those benefits exhausted, for reasons unknown, Employee’s previous attorney never timely filed a claim for permanent and total disability benefits at that time. Employee went approximately 1.5 years without benefits. Attorney Michael D. Facchini was retained at this point and immediately pursued Employee’s claims for total and permanent disability benefits (G.L. c. 152, s. 34A). Insurance company fought this claim and refused to voluntarily place Employee on these benefits primarily on the defense that he “owned this business and therefore could create a job for himself.” I zealously argued that the Employee was permanently disabled due to his herniated back injuries, and that he was unable to perform any meaningful work duties within his business due to his injuries, lack of education, lack of transferable skills and there is NO legal/equitable requirement that a business owner is required to create a job for himself and/or there is no basis that owner of a business cannot qualify for permanent and total disability benefits. We won after a full day trial. Judge Awarded total and permanent disability lost wages and reasonable medical treatment for the remainder of the client’s life.