Dr. David Goldstein

The Applicant sought non-earner benefits following a 2013 motor vehicle accident where he was struck as a pedestrian, aggravating a severe pre-existing right knee injury from a 2012 accident.

The insurer denied the claim based on independent medical assessments.

The arbitrator rejected the insurer's medical assessments as flawed for failing to properly consider the pre-existing injury.

However, the arbitrator dismissed the application because the Applicant failed to provide sufficient corroborating evidence of his pre- and post-accident activities of daily living, complicated by his post-accident cocaine addiction and inconsistent living arrangements, to prove he suffered a complete inability to carry on a normal life.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident while enrolled in a heavy duty equipment mechanic college program.

The insurer terminated his weekly education disability benefits.

The applicant sought arbitration, claiming he was physically and mentally unable to complete his education due to chronic pain and depression.

The arbitrator dismissed the claim, finding that the applicant's physical injuries were primarily soft tissue and had resolved, as evidenced by his subsequent employment in physically demanding jobs and his weight training.

The arbitrator also found no persuasive medical evidence of a disabling psychiatric condition or head injury, concluding the applicant failed to prove a substantial inability to complete his education or carry on a normal life.

The applicant sought ongoing weekly income benefits and medical-rehabilitation expenses following a 1991 motor vehicle accident.

The insurer had terminated benefits in 1995 and sought repayment of overpaid amounts.

The arbitrator found that the applicant, with the assistance of his doctor, had shifted responsibility for a pre-existing back condition to the minor 1991 accident.

Video surveillance demonstrated the applicant engaging in vigorous exercise inconsistent with his claimed disability.

The arbitrator dismissed the claims for ongoing benefits and expenses, determined the correct quantum of weekly benefits based on pre-accident income, and ordered the applicant to repay $66,967.56 in overpaid benefits plus interest, finding he had deliberately misled the insurer.

The applicant claimed statutory accident benefits for income replacement following two motor vehicle accidents in 1995 and 1996.

The insurer paid benefits for a period but subsequently terminated them.

The arbitrator found the applicant to be an unreliable historian who concealed prior workplace and motor vehicle injuries from his medical assessors.

Preferring the objective medical evidence of the insurer's experts, the arbitrator concluded that the applicant's ongoing shoulder and back problems were chronic pre-existing conditions and that he was no longer disabled as a result of the motor vehicle accidents.

The claim for further income replacement benefits was dismissed, but the applicant was awarded one-half of his arbitration expenses.