Ford v Gordon Food Service Inc., 2009 ACO #130
The Appellate Commission remanded this matter to the magistrate for additional analysis regarding wage loss. The magistrate initially awarded benefits to the plaintiff despite the fact that the plaintiff found and was offered an on call job driving a van. The Commission held that the magistrate erred by making a factual finding that the plaintiff was unable to perform that job because he could not safely drive while taking Vicodin. The Commission noted that it was inappropriate for the magistrate to make a factual finding without supporting medical testimony in the record; the Commission then invoked their fact finding authority and made the necessary findings based on medical testimony available. However, the Commission also remanded the case due to the fact the magistrate did not properly analyze the wage loss issue under the Haske two part test that requires the plaintiff to prove wage loss and the existence of a causal link between his wage loss and his injury.