Mr. Fallus & The Failing Phallus: A Unique IAB Decision on Permanency
Claimant fell 8 feet from a roof onto his head. He has the financial good fortune of making a lackluster recovery, always a plus when PPD rating time comes around. He is sent to Dr. Jeff Meyers for a medical-legal permanency evaluation, the same Dr. Meyers who likes to amass impaired body parts like he’s sampling the offerings at Olde Country Buffet. In our case du jour, there are 12 permanencies for which awards are sought: headache/brain, cervical, lumbar, face, teeth, bladder, bowel, left arm, right arm, dysthesias, and “trunk” weakness.”
What was the award?
10% headache/brain
37% cervical
13% lumbar
13% face
20% teeth
10% bladder
4% bowel
6% left arm
2% right arm
5% dysthesias
15% trunk weakness
0% sexual dysfunction
So what piqued my interest in this case was the amount of weeks to be assigned for the “dysthesias” and the “trunk weakness”, since I didn’t recall ever seeing those awards and/or having them documented on my super-dee-duper PPD chart. They would certainly be deemed unscheduled losses. Much to my chagrin, the decision does not speak to the number of weeks these body parts are worth. (Don’t you just hate it when that happens?)
The sexual dysfunction claim was the only one denied — kind of hysterical considering his name is “Mr. Fallas”. Or perhaps not. The denial of an award was based on a lack of evidence as to both the genesis of any sexual problems, as well as, the occurrence of any sexual impairment, and noting claimant had reportedly turned down a trial of erectile dysfunction meds. The claimant, through a translator, testified that “despite being single, he was engaged in sexual activity with much greater frequency before his accident than after.” He claimed to be unable to ejaculate as well. That testimony notwithstanding, the Board found nothing wrong with Mr. Fallas’ phallus. (Props to Taylor Trapp for pointing that out to them.)
The dysthesias award also intrigued me. This is apparently another way of giving an award for a “centralized pain syndrome.” There is not much explanation as to why this is not duplicative to the other awards, which one finds perplexing, but we’ll leave it at that. If we were back at Olde Country Buffet with Doc Meyers, this would no doubt be akin to the condiment bar.
Finally, there was a unique award for “trunk weakness” as rated by Dr. Meyers. Explained as trunk muscles weakened by spinal cord syndrome and apparently having something to do with being dependent on a cane. Once again, one cannot help but think of dinner rolls.
The case is Luis Hernandez-Fallas v. SM Contractors LLC, IAB Hr’g No. 1445259 (Feb. 5, 2021). Congrats to Brian Legum on a stellar outcome for his client and to Taylor Trapp . . .for showing the Board that no client of Brian’s is ever lacking in virility.
Irreverently Yours,
Cassandra Roberts
