Correctional officer’s multiple attempts at workers comp denied by court

By Cy Ryan

Friday, July 15, 2011 | 1:05 p.m.

A correctional officer for the city of North Las Vegas, who told different stories about how she got injured, can't collect worker compensation benefits, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled today.

The court said none of the three physicians who treated Jacqueline Phillips could say with certainty that she was injured by pulling an inmate from a squad car to a holding cell in September 2007. And in fact, there was "substantial evidence" to deny her claim, the court said.

She initially filed a claim in 2005, saying she was injured on the job by lifting heavy boxes. The claim was denied.

On Sept. 22 2007, she said she was injured on the job while transferring the inmate. She initially told her doctor this was an aggravation of the injury suffered in 2005.

She told a second physician her symptoms began on Sept. 30, or eight days after the reported incident. The city denied her claim. She was then treated by a third doctor whom she told her symptoms began on Sept. 22.

The court said that for a person to collect worker compensation he or she must show the injury was caused in the line of employment.

"Here, the record reflects that none of Phillips‚ treating physicians stated to a reasonable degree of medical probability that Phillips‚ injury was related to the Sept. 22, 2007 incident," said the court.