The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident while driving a taxicab and received weekly income benefits until April 26, 1991.
The insurer terminated benefits based on medical assessments indicating the applicant was no longer substantially disabled.
The applicant sought ongoing weekly income benefits, payment for a functional restoration program (F.I.T.), a special award, and expenses.
The arbitrator dismissed the claim for ongoing weekly income benefits, finding the applicant's subjective complaints of pain and depression were exaggerated and unsupported by objective medical evidence.
However, the arbitrator ordered the insurer to pay for the F.I.T. program, concluding it was a reasonable and necessary expense to restore the applicant to his pre-accident condition, and rejected the insurer's argument that the applicant failed to mitigate his damages by abandoning an earlier program.
The request for a special award was denied, but the applicant was awarded his expenses for the hearing.
