Attorney Thomas Videon of our firm prevailed in convincing the judge that the claimant retired from his position with a school district not because he was disabled from work but because his retirement would provide him with health insurance coverage.

The claimant sustained various injuries when he fell off a ladder. He retired on 12/25/23 after writing to his employer on 12/5/23 to advise that he was retiring for “reasons beyond his control.” At that time, the claimant was partially disabled but awaiting the surgery.

At a trial hearing, Thomas elicited testimony from the claimant in which he admitted that the primary reason for his retirement was the employer’s benefit of paying 100% of health insurance costs for retirees. Thomas wisely objected to further questioning on this issue by claimant’s attorney and let the record stand as it was. Thomas then persuaded the judge that the requirement for compensable retirement had not been that in that it was the claimant’s desire to have health insurance coverage that motivated him and not his disability.

We congratulate Thomas for his ability to elicit favorable testimony and then skillfully manage the record to obtain an excellent result for our client.

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