The City of Ocala has agreed to pay $75,000 to settle a worker’s compensation claim by a firefighter who injured his lower back while on the job.
During the Ocala City Council meeting that was held on October 3, council members approved the settlement for Kurt Gallisdorfer, who worked as a firefighter/EMT for the City of Ocala.
According to city records, Gallisdorfer reported a work-related injury on July 28, 2016. After the incident, Gallisdorfer was seen at the city’s clinic and was recommended to receive an MRI.
The city claims Gallisdorfer opted to take “conservative treatments” with no lasting benefit, but that he progressed from performing light duty to full duty. During that time, he experienced symptoms that continued through the year following the incident.
In the fall of 2017, Gallisdorfer had a laminectomy performed and followed up with conservative treatments that had “limited success,” according to the city. Gallisdorfer was referred to pain management and had injections with “limited benefit” before another doctor concluded that a second surgery was merited.
The city obtained an “independent medical examination” and concluded that Gallisdorfer had “mild recurrent disc protrusion.” The doctor that conducted the examination said he was “not confident further surgery would be a benefit” and recommended “epidural steroid injections to provide some palliative relief of symptoms,” according to the city.
According to city staff, the average annual medical cost for Gallisdorfer’s injury has been approximately $22,151. City staff determined that any ongoing care after surgery would be “difficult to predict,” and that Gallisdorfer’s “pain management care” could “continue to be costly.”
Given Gallisdorfer’s life expectancy of 35.88 years, his total lifetime medical costs were estimated at $794,770.35, according to city staff.
Now that it has been approved, the $75,000 “all-inclusive settlement” will be paid out of the city’s self insurance fund, as it is an “accepted worker’s compensation” claim, according to city records.