Claim of Mallette v. Flattery's

Rose, J.P.

Appeal from a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Board, filed January 20, 2012, which, among other things, ruled that claimant’s need for artificial disc replacement surgery was causally related to the compensable accident.

In 2007, claimant began treating for lower back pain. She was diagnosed with a disc herniation and thereafter had microdiscectomy surgery in 2008. When that did not relieve her back pain, her treating neurosurgeon, Ryan Den Haese, recommended an artificial disc replacement procedure (hereinafter ADRE) in 2009. However, claimant’s private health insurance…