PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia jury has awarded $2.7 million to a man who claimed his employer's medical help-line discouraged him from seeking attention for an injury to his foot that caused it to be amputated later.
The $4.5 million verdict came on April 16 for plaintiff Gerald Tritt and against WorkCompvidence and its owner Dr. Louis Lam. The jury found Tritt was 39% at fault for his own injury but attributed the rest of the blame to the defendants.
The "tentative molded award" to Tritt will be $2,709,772.50, Judge Carmella Jacquinto ruled. She had previously ruled evidence of any settlement in the Workers' Comp system would not be introduced to jurors.
"Dr. Lam and WorkCompvidence profited from steering injured workers away from medical care to save their employers money," said the Kline & Specter lawyers who pursued Tritt's case, David Inscho and Helen Lawless.
WorkCompvidence is a medical case management company in King Of Prussia. Tritt was a temporary construction worker in Tampa, Fla., who developed a diabetic foot ulcer and was told by his supervisor to call WorkCompvidence.
The nurses on the help-line spoke with Tritt every other day, while relaying that Dr. Lam suggested he used first-aid materials to treat the wound. Kline & Specter said WorkCompvidence never recommended to Tritt that he see a physician or stop working.
Tritt's lawyers alleged WorkCompvidence had advertised its services to companies as being able to reduce their Workers' Compensation costs by reducing employee trips to clinics and emergency rooms.
Kline & Specter said Lam's strategy came at the expense of workers' health and well-being. Jurors unanimously agreed after a seven-day trial that had Lam claiming he could not be liable for the amputation because he was not Tritt's treating physician.
The ulcer worsened at humid and muddy conditions at work, Tritt alleged. It became necrotic and gangrenous, leading to the amputation. Tritt's wife Dawn was awarded $61,000 on her claims.