…A 54-year-old millwright foreman slipped off of a steel beam, catching himself with his arm. He had immediate shoulder pain. He reported this injury to his supervisor and was later laid off. Many months later he was diagnosed with a tear in his rotator cuff. He had shoulder surgery and was disabled from work. His employer refused to recognize his injury and pay for his medical bills or weekly workers’ compensation benefits. After several hearings before a workers’ compensation judge, the judge agreed that he was injured at work, but did not award any benefits. The appeal board reversed the judge’s decision, ordering the employer to pay wage benefits for the time he missed work, reimburse him for his unpaid medical bills and pay him for the time he lost from a new job to attend the hearings.
