Rotoloni v. Balmoral Park

Respondent defeats permanent total disability award by prevailing on accident issue

This case, Rotoloni v. Balmoral Park, was tried by Mark Vizza of Brady, Connolly & Masuda. The petitioner alleged that while employed as a broadcast engineer for Balmoral Park, he sustained an accident arising out of and in the course of his job on January 17, 2002, when he hurt himself lifting a TV. He testified that from that date, his condition began getting worse and finally on May 14, 2002, he could not bend and he went off work. He has remained off work from May 2002 to the present and was seeking permanent total disability benefits.

Petitioner further testified he had prior problems with his back in 1987 and in 1989 had surgery, and had further surgery on his back in 1994. The arbitrator found that the only testimony regarding the accident is the petitioner's own testimony that he suffered an accident on January 17, 2002. The arbitrator found that this was not supported by any of the medical records submitted by either the respondent or the petitioner. Further, the arbitrator found that the petitioner's own treating doctor related all the back problems to his 1989 incident. The petitioner's testimony was further rebutted by the fact that all the doctors note that after the second surgery in 1994, he did not obtain any relief and continued to have problems in direct contradiction of his testimony. Based upon the medical records submitted by both parties and the evidence heard by the arbitrator, the arbitrator found that the petitioner failed to prove that he suffered an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment with the respondent on January 17, 2002.

The petitioner had requested that the arbitrator find him permanently and totally disabled and award benefits from May 14, 2002, through the present, and then continuing into the future. Instead, the arbitrator found that petitioner was not entitled to any benefits whatsoever.