PA Court Rules Repetitive Trauma Not a Cause of Nerve Injuries in Landmark Workers’ Comp Case

In a case of first impression in Pennsylvania, we successfully defended a Berks County mushroom canning facility from a claim petition alleging repetitive trauma injuries to the upper extremities. The claimant alleged that over time his duties as a machine operator caused nerve injuries to both upper extremities. We presented medical expert testimony supporting the existence of these nerve damage but challenged causation. In a modified Frye challenge to claimant’s medical expert opinions, we argued through expert testimony that the state of science and medicine overwhelmingly supports the fact that “repetitive trauma” is not a substantial contributing factor to the development of carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes. While the court allowed the claimant to present expert testimony to the contrary, it ultimately found our expert testimony opinions to outweigh the claimant’s expert testimony. The court concluded for the first time in Pennsylvania that carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome is not borne out through alleged repetitive trauma. This was a complete defense verdict.