Decision  Loretta R. King v. City of Newton

Date:	02/13/2015
Organization:	Department of Industrial Accidents
Docket Number:	DIA Board No. 009543-10
Location:	Boston

• Employee: Loretta R. King
• Employer: City of Newton
• Self Insurer: City of Newton

KOZIOL, J. The self-insurer appeals from a decision ordering it to pay the employee § 34A permanent and total incapacity benefits, § 36(1)(k) bodily disfigurement benefits in the amount of $15,000.00, and § 30 "reasonable and necessary medical expenses including but not limited to [a] motorized chair lift,"¹ which were found to be causally related to the employee’s April 28, 2010, work injury. The self-insurer argues the judge erred by 1) making internally inconsistent findings; 2) mischaracterizing and then adopting alleged opinions of the § 11A examiner; 3) finding that the additional medical evidence was sufficient to overcome the impartial medical examiner’s opinions; 4) failing to conduct a proper analysis under § 1(7A); and, 5) failing to provide an adequate analysis of the employee’s earning capacity consistent with § 35D.

¹ "Although commonly used, the statutory support for the ‘reasonable and necessary’ standard is nonexistent." Donovan v. Keyspan Energy Delivery, 22 Mass. Workers’ Comp. Rep. 337, 337 n.1 (2008); Lewin v. Danvers Butchery, Inc., 13 Mass. Workers’ Comp. Rep. 18, 19-20 n.1 (1999)(" ‘[a]dequate and reasonable’ relates to the nature of the hospital or medical services," whereas " ‘[n]ecessary’ relates to the length of time an employee may be entitled to such health care services. It was added to the statute in 1948 when the duration of medical benefits was expanded to an indefinite period from what had earlier been limited to a few weeks").