A 61-year-old man who sustained cumulative trauma injuries to his back, neck, and knees while working as a heavy equipment operator for a Freedonia-based company has received a workers’ compensation award of more than $450,000 in a recent decision from an Administrative Law Judge for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims. Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer attorney McKinnley Morgan represented the injured worker.

The claimant, William Scott, worked for Holcim Mamr, Inc., where he operated heavy equipment to break, separate, and wash rock. He testified that the rock-breaking equipment and loaders would “slam you around.”

Scott began experiencing back pain over the Memorial Day weekend of 2025 and reported that he was unable to work the following Monday. He filed a workers’ compensation claim against his employer based on employment-related cumulative trauma injuries to his back, neck, and knees on May 23, 2025.

Scott sought treatment at the emergency room, where he was unable to tolerate an MRI. He underwent back surgery in June 2025, after which he noticed some temporary improvement. His pain levels again increased during the week of Thanksgiving in 2025. Scott underwent a second back surgery in February 2026. The second surgery delivered some improvement that lasted until the summer of 2026.

The claimant testified that he began using a walker and cane after the surgeries. He said he experiences pain radiating into his arms and numbness in his hands while using the cane for too long or while reading a book. He said he has swelling in the knees from time to time, but has not received medical treatment for it. Scott testified that he has difficulty shaving and cannot do yard work or household chores.

Dr. John Gilbert assigned Scott a 44 percent whole-person impairment based on cervical radiculopathy, lumbar radiculopathy, weakness in both knees, and abnormal gait requiring the use of a walker. Dr. Gilbert found that Scott cannot perform the type of work he was doing at the time of his injuries. He said Scott is likely 100 percent occupationally disabled for the foreseeable future.

In an order dated August 20, 2026, the ALJ found that Scott sustained a work-related cumulative trauma injury. The ALJ awarded Scott temporary total disability (TTD) benefits running from the date of the injury through the date Dr. Gilbert found he had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). The ALJ also awarded permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits for 520 weeks, as well as coverage of all related medical expenses.

The case was William Scott v. Holcim Mamr, Inc., Case No. 2026-00159.