A worker suffered mental health issues in conjunction with a back injury and he was awarded permanent total disability benefits, even though one doctor’s assessment was “ambiguous” on whether he could ever work again. The Supreme Court of Ohio was divided in their decision.

Joshua N. Pilarcyzk worked as a maintenance worker for Ohio’s Geauga County and suffered a back injury in 2002. He submitted workers’ comp claims for spinal and psychological conditions, and he received temporary total disability benefits. In 2015 he applied for permanent total disability. In 2015 he underwent physical and psychological examinations, and his treating orthopedic physician said his physical conditions would continue indefinitely, and they prevented him from engaging in gainful employment. That physician said he was permanently and totally disabled as a direct result of his work-related injuries.

Several months later the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation ordered an independent psychological evaluation to assess the extent of his psychological disability and his potential to return to work. This physician said his mental health issues “likely do prevent him from returning to his former position of employment”. The doctor also said he had problems with depression, focus and motivation which inhibited his ability to return to work, and he would likely not thrive in a moderate to high stress job. The physician thought he was more likely able to work in a job where there is less stress.

The Commission of Ohio granted permanent disability and then denied it based on that second doctor’s opinion, saying that he was capable of working in a low stress job. This was appealed and the 10^th District Court of Appeals reversed that decision. The state Supreme Court upheld that, saying the commission accepted one doctor’s opinion over another’s, and that the opinion of that second doctor did not say he could work, it just said he was more likely able to work in a low-stress job. They declared his opinion ambiguous. Two dissenting judges wrote that they thought there was evidence he was capable of some kind of employment.

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