A Pennsylvania appeals court on Monday upheld a determination by a workers compensation judge that limited to medical benefits only a claim petition filed by a correctional officer who says he was declared legally blind in one eye following a workplace injury.
The Commonwealth Court said a comp judge correctly found John Sherman, who worked as a Mercer County prison guard, was entitled to medical benefits for an eye injury he sustained in May 2019 after being accidentally sprayed with a chemical disinfectant.
The judge had also ruled that Mr. Sherman was not entitled to wage loss benefits for loss of use of his left eye because he failed to prove a subsequent diagnosis saying he was legally blind in the injured eye was directly caused by the work site incident.
Mr. Sherman initially sought only medical benefits but amended his claim petition during the August 2019 comp hearing to also seek wage loss benefits.
A comp appeals board affirmed the judge’s determination, and the Commonwealth Court said the board correctly upheld the ruling denying the wage loss component of the claim because Mr. Sherman failed to prove his legal blindness was tied to the workplace accident and not other health-related issues such as diabetes that could affect eyesight health.