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Excerpts
Claimant was born August 7, 1952, and has a GED. He worked for Employer for 27 years starting in 1975. His last day at work was March 20, 2003, when he was pulled from work by Dr. Hinton. Claimant has not worked since and maintains he is unable to work due to the medication he takes for pain. On January 29, 2003, while working his usual job as a “burner”, he jumped off a table and jammed his neck and back. He went to the emergency room, saw Dr. Hinton, and was subsequently placed under the care of Dr. Petersen who performed neck surgery. No physician has told Claimant he cannot work. A 2004 functional capacity evaluation found he did not make maximum effort, and jobs for which Claimant has not applied have been identified.
Conclusion
Claimant was pulled from work on March 20, 2003. Therefore, he was temporarily totally disabled as of this date. He was not released to return to work until January 11, 2005, by Dr. Peterson. While Dr. Petersen allowed Claimant to return to work with restrictions, Claimant’s former duties as a burner exceed these restrictions, according to the vocational rehabilitation counselor. (EX-6, p. 6). While Claimant underwent an FCE in 2004, the results of the testing were inconclusive. The examiner could not provide any concrete work restrictions because of Claimant’s inconsistent and questionable performance. Therefore, I find Dr. Petersen’s restrictions of January 11, 2005, to control in this instance.
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