The oral testimony of Claimant delved into his background, education, prior jobs, and his driving job with Construction Material Trucking. Claimant recited he had passed his D.O.T. physical exam every two years, with the latest occurring in September/October of 2005. Claimant considered himself a "good employee," an evaluation that his employers later verified in their testimony.
Claimant testified about his parked truck sliding into an excavation. He had been sitting sideways in the parked truck, talking out the driver's window to another worker. Claimant then described the mechanism of injury and body parts struck when the truck slid into the ditch.
Claimant stated his employer took him to an occupational clinic the same day, and agreed that his only complaint the day of the accident was to his left arm/shoulder. Claimant was treated and released with no restrictions. Claimant stated he had returned to work the very next day, asserting to his employer that he could drive even though his shoulder was stiff and sore.
Claimant asserted he complained to Wayne Taylor either the day of the accident, or the next day about his neck being stiff, an assertion categorically denied by Mr. Taylor during his testimony. Claimant also asserted he complained about his neck roughly a week later, again to Mr. Taylor, which Mr. Taylor also denied. The Court finds the testimony of Mr. Taylor in this area more credible than the testimony of Claimant.
Claimant admitted he had never thereafter made any complaints to any of his employers about any injury allegedly caused by the accident in January 2006. Claimant continued to drive for the employer, driving every scheduled day throughout the rest of 2006 (see Employer's Exhibit 4) until he quit his job a day or two before Christmas 2006.
Claimant testified he had planned to move to Pennsylvania once his child support payments had ended in December 2006 because his father had a house he could use rent-free. Claimant and his friends packed a U-Haul truck the day after he quit and claimant himself drove to Pennsylvania over the next two days - involving 18 hours of driving, arriving on Christmas day. Claimant admitted that when Earl Guest called him while they were packing to inquire why the claimant had quit, Claimant offered no mention of accident, injury or neck complaints.
The balance of Claimant's testimony dealt with medical care he had received through the State of Pennsylvania, a program called Access Plus, that Claimant said provided free medical care. Claimant testified he had received no medical bills during all his medical care in Pennsylvania.
Claimant asserted he had told Wayne Taylor the next morning that he was stiff and tight and that Wayne told him he would get better. Claimant alleged he again complained to Mr. Taylor about a week later about being stiff and that he probably mentioned his neck.
Mr. Taylor denied any such neck complaints were made to him the day after the accident or a week later, and specifically denied any neck complaints were made to him, ever. In fact, Mr. Taylor said he himself approached Claimant roughly a week after the accident to inquire into Claimant's health, and Claimant simply lifted his left arm to shoulder level, said it was a little stiff, but that he would be okay. This same gesture - lifting of the arm to shoulder level - was how Claimant had communicated his arm stiffness on the day after the accident, in proclaiming his ability to drive - according to Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor was much more credible in his detail of these two "conversations" to the effect that Claimant had made no mention of his neck, no complaints a