Timothy Remer was a long term Assistant Manager for Walgreens in Waupaca, Wisconsin, when he was suffered a knee injury in April 2012. Remer was closing the metal door of a safe at one of the company’s stores as he rose from a kneeling position. When he did so, the edge of the safe’s door struck him on the inside of his knee, causing immediate excruciating pain. Remer had to undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus and several weeks of intravenous antibiotics to treat a post-surgical knee infection. Remer’s doctors recommended knee injections and assessed a 7% Permanent Partial Disability (PPD). The company’s independent medical doctor claimed that Remer suffered only a bruise, and denied that his medical treatment was due to a work accident, despite the fact that he had no previous knee problems.
On June 12, 2013, after a public hearing on Remer’s claim, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Edward Falkner of the Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation Division ruled for Remer in all respects. Specifically, the ALJ ruled that Remer had suffered a work-related knee injury and that all treatment and disability were related to that injury. Based on those findings, the ALJ ordered Walgreens to compensate Remer for all time he missed time from work due to the surgery and infections, to pay him 7% PPD, and to reimburse him and his family health insurance provider for all medical bills they had paid. The ALJ’s decision also left the claim open for potential future treatment and benefits, as might become necessary.
Attorney Aaron Halstead represented Mr. Remer. If you or a family member has suffered a knee or other work injury, please contact one of Hawks Quindel’s worker’s compensation attorneys.