Tolkunova v. Dillard's: TPD and Neurology/Psychiatry Evaluations Awarded

In Tolkunova v. Dillard's, Inc/Sedgwick CMS, OJCC Case No. 26-002420JPM, Judge John P. Moneyham considered TPD, psychiatric and neurologic evaluations, compensability, and causation issues after an August 9, 2024 elevator trip-and-fall accident.

The JCC accepted medical opinions tying the claimant's current low back condition and ongoing right knee condition to the workplace accident, finding she had not reached overall MMI and could not perform her prior retail management job or the offered positions within her restrictions. The order rejected the suitable-employment and voluntary-limitation defenses because the offered work required activity beyond her restrictions, including work without crutches or substantial standing/walking.

TPD was awarded for September 25, 2025 through July 14, 2026, with DoorDash earnings and reclassified impairment benefits credited under the statutory formula. The JCC also granted psychiatric and neurologic evaluations under the diagnostic-evaluation line of cases, denied treatment-causation determinations as premature, found the current right knee and low back conditions compensable, and awarded fees and costs with amount reserved.

Source: Compensation Order