Stericycle, Inc. v. Patterson

Sonja Patterson was a truck driver for Stericycle, Inc. On January 19, 2011, Patterson was loading three 50-pound containers onto her truck when she felt a painful “pop” in her lower back. Patterson saw several doctors, none of whom were able to explain her degree of pain or her lack of mobility following the incident. Stericycle paid the bills for her doctor visits but refused to pay Patterson temporary-disability benefits.

On April 12, 2011, Patterson filed a complaint seeking benefits for a permanent-total disability. The parties stipulated that the injury “arose out of and in the course of…