Sodoro Law Group and attorney John Densberger recently received an Order of Dismissal with Prejudice on behalf of their client subsequent to Trial before the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court. In this case, Plaintiff alleged an injury to his groin, which was ultimately diagnosed as a hernia. Defendant denied there was an accident and/or injury that arose out of and in the course of Plaintiff’s employment with Defendant. Thus, the parties were left to take the issues up to the Court via Trial.
Mr. Densberger tried the case before the Court in early February 2022, and an Order of Dismissal with Prejudice was entered on March 14, 2022. Defendant’s argument focused on a prior diagnosis of an inguinal hernia in April 2020, which included a recommendation to follow up with a surgeon regarding a repair of the hernia. Plaintiff alleged he was injured in December 2020, while performing repetitive work with heavy boxes, when he felt a pop in his groin area.
Plaintiff’s lack of credibility was highlighted by Mr. Densberger via questions regarding the prior inguinal hernia diagnosis and recommendation for surgery, which were denied by Plaintiff during cross-examination. Exhibits entered into evidence confirmed the diagnosis of the left inguinal hernia and the recommendation for surgery, which caused irreparable harm to Plaintiff’s credibility in the eyes of the Court.
Ultimately, the Court found Plaintiff was not credible, due to his denial of the prior diagnosis and recommendation for surgery resulting in the Court’s finding that no new injury could be attributed to the alleged work event in December 2020. The Court emphasized this decision by defining an accident as an “unexpected or unforeseen injury happening suddenly and violently…,” from NEB. REV. STAT §48-151(2).
The Court’s final sentences illuminate its decision. “In light of the Court’s conclusion that Plaintiff suffered no injury in the subject accident, but again, a new symptom traceable to a previously diagnoses and ongoing symptomatic hernia condition an accident has not been established under the governing statutory scheme. The failure to persuasively establish such a necessary predicate necessarily foretells the result.”
Sodoro Law Group and Mr. Densberger are honored to have assisted their client in receiving such a definitive result of an Order of Dismissal with Prejudice!
If you have any questions about this case and/or how it impacts matters you are reviewing, please do not hesitate to reach out to our talented attorneys. Sodoro Law Group is a full-service law firm responding to the legal needs of clients in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
For more information, or to contact the team at Sodoro Law Group, go to sodorolaw.com or email Kelsey Sievers at ksievers@sodorolaw.com.