Decades after this worker’s injury, he is prescribed medical marijuana for pain management. But when the employer denies reimbursement, the conversation of coverage is brought into court.
In 1977, Paul Sheetz suffered a work injury while on the job, working for Firestone Tire & Rubber. He required two back surgeries and suffered severe back pain and shooting pain in his legs.
At the time, his doctor prescribed him a mix of narcotics and opiates, including oxycontin, to help reduce pain. Over 30 years later, Sheetz was still feeling the aftereffects of his injury and subsequent surgeries. His doctor recommended a pain relief switch to medical marijuana in January 2019.
The switch did as intended — Sheetz’s dependence on opiate pain management began to wane as medical marijuana was introduced into the mix. Eventually, Sheetz weaned himself off diazepam and oxycontin entirely by September 2019.
However, during this pain medication transition, Sheetz’s employer did not reimburse him for the medical marijuana.
In October 2019, Sheetz filed a penalty petition against his…
