The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld a decision by the state’s medical board that the injured construction worker was ineligible for permanent comprehensive disability benefits due to scant evidence to support the man’s claims.
In its ruling on Friday, the Superior Court upheld the Wyoming Medical Board’s decision of the Department of Workforce Services, Workers’ Compensation Division, to deny an application for permanent comprehensive disability benefits filed by Fernando Rodriguez.
In 2007, Rodriguez fell off a truck bed during construction work and injured his wrist.
He received Temporary Partial Disability Benefits and Temporary Total Disability Benefits from November 2007 to April 2008, but several years later he was diagnosed with chronic pain associated with a workplace accident. He claimed he was unable to work on construction sites due to his injuries and sought permanent benefits.
Rodriguez, 53, is an immigrant from Mexico and said only his limited education and work experience qualified him to work as a worker.
Wyoming Supreme Court Finds Rodriguez Not a Credible Plaintiff Because Experts Find Rodriguez Manipulated Tests, Exaggerated Symptoms, and Displayed Behavior at Public Hearings That Contradicted His Complaints I have agreed with the medical committee.
The court ruled that the commission did not act “arbitrarily and capriciously,” and there was sufficient evidence to support the commission’s decision to deny Rodriguez’s application for permanent disability benefits.
