A 53-year-old long term and reliable school custodian JS contacted Lipkin & Apter after his school district failed to accommodate his light-duty work restrictions and denied him worker compensation, financial and medical benefits. He was told by his supervisor that the restriction written by his rheumatologist could not be honored - he either had to work full duty or not at all, at which point JS went home. As a result, JS had now been unemployed and penniless for several months and was not receiving any temporary total disability benefits or weekly workers compensation and a petition for an emergency trial was filed immediately.
During the trial, the school district attempted to discredit JS's account by discrediting the number of pieces of furniture he had to move each night and the number of classrooms for which he was responsible. On the other hand, Lipkin & Apter attorneys cross-examined his supervisors to reveal that JS performed his job well and so they had little reason to actually watch him work. Meaning they did not know how he rearranged the chairs and desks. Nor did they know the distance the equipment had to be moved. Following the trial, the arbitrator Awarded Medical Benefit, Temporary Total Disability, Back Pay, and Permanent Disability to JS.