The claimant was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident in 2014. She received IRBs for four years, until they were terminated based on multidisciplinary s. 44 opinions. The claimant applied to the LAT seeking entitlement to post-104 week income replacement benefits and a special award. As a preliminary issue, the claimant requested that the insurer’s surveillance evidence be excluded as it was served 1.5 months after the deadline for document exchange. Adjudicator Paluch declined to exclude the surveillance evidence, finding that it was relevant and that the claimant was not significantly prejudiced by its inclusion as the surveillance materials were served a month prior to the hearing. The claimant declined an offer to adjourn the hearing to allow time for her experts to review the surveillance. Adjudicator Paluch found that the insurer’s multidisciplinary assessments were greatly undermined by the fact that they did not investigate the severity of the claimant’s psychological problems and chronic pain syndrome, or fully assess the claimant’s ability to work a full workday or workweek. Adjudicator Paluch found that the claimant was entitled to further post-104 IRBs to date and ongoing. The request for a special award was denied.
