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Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.

Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Matter of Corwin v. City of New York

Ronald Corwin was injured in a Citi Bike accident due to an unpainted concrete wheel stop. He initially filed a notice of claim alleging the City's negligence in installing and maintaining the wheel stop. Later, he sought to amend his claim to include a 'design claim' (negligent infrastructure design) and a 'helmet claim' (negligent failure to provide helmets system-wide). The motion court denied the amendment. On appeal, the majority of the court denied the motion to amend but granted leave to file a late notice for both the design and helmet claims. Judge Andrias dissents in part, agreeing with the denial of the amendment and the granting of the design claim, but arguing that the helmet claim should not be granted due to lack of reasonable excuse for delay and the City's lack of actual prior notice.

Notice of ClaimGeneral Municipal LawLate Notice of ClaimAmendment of ClaimNegligenceDesign ClaimHelmet ClaimPersonal InjuryBicycle AccidentActual Notice
References
23
Case No. Claim Nos. 4754 and 7181
Regular Panel Decision
Feb 20, 2014

In re Residential Capital, LLC

Caren Wilson filed claims (Claim Nos. 4754 and 7181) asserting secured and unsecured claims against Residential Capital, LLC. The ResCap Borrower Claims Trust objected, arguing the claims were barred by res judicata due to a prior dismissal with prejudice of a related federal action, or were improperly amended/late-filed. The Court applied federal res judicata law, finding that Wilson's claims arise from the same nucleus of facts as the previously dismissed Federal Action. Additionally, Claim No. 7181 was deemed either barred by res judicata or late-filed, and both claims failed to meet pleading standards for RICO and fraud. The Court sustained the Trust's objection, expunging both of Wilson's claims, but modified the automatic stay to allow Wilson to challenge the prior dismissal order in the Virginia District Court.

BankruptcyRes JudicataClaim ObjectionExpungementFailure to ProsecuteRule 41(b) DismissalRICOFraudDebtor-CreditorMortgage Securitization
References
45
Case No. claim No. 1, claim No. 2
Regular Panel Decision

Colley v. Endicott Johnson Corp.

The case involves an appeal from a Workers' Compensation Board decision concerning two claims. The claimant suffered a back injury in 1985, and that claim was closed in 1986. In 2004, while working in Ohio for MCS Carriers, the claimant sustained another back injury. The Workers' Compensation Law Judge ruled that the 1985 claim was barred from reopening by Workers’ Compensation Law § 123 and that New York lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the 2004 claim. The Workers' Compensation Board affirmed these rulings, leading to this appeal. The appellate court affirmed the Board's decision, confirming the applicability of § 123 to the 1985 claim due to lapsed statutory limits and concluding that insufficient significant contacts existed to confer New York jurisdiction over the 2004 out-of-state injury.

Workers' CompensationJurisdictionStatute of LimitationsReopening ClaimOut-of-state InjurySignificant ContactsAppellate ReviewBack InjuryTruck DriverNew York Law
References
6
Case No. CV-24-1460
Regular Panel Decision
Feb 19, 2026

In the Matter of the Claim of Bonnie Blake

Claimant Bonnie C. Blake appealed an amended decision of the Workers' Compensation Board, which ruled she needed to show ongoing labor market attachment for both her 2000 and 2017 injury claims. The Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, reviewed the applicability of the 2017 amendment to Workers' Compensation Law § 15 (3) (w). The court found that due to her return to full-time employment at pre-injury wages at the time of her 2011 permanent partial disability classification for Claim No. 1, and no finding of voluntary withdrawal from the labor market, the 2017 amendment applied retroactively. Consequently, the claimant was not required to demonstrate ongoing labor market attachment for Claim No. 1 to be entitled to indemnity benefits. The Court modified the Board's decision, reversing the requirement for labor market attachment in Claim No. 1 and remitted the matter for further proceedings.

Workers' Compensation Law § 15 (3) (w)Labor Market AttachmentPermanent Partial DisabilityRetroactive ApplicationSpecial Fund for Reopened CasesDue ProcessAppellate Division Third DepartmentWage-Earning CapacityIndemnity BenefitsWorkers' Compensation Board
References
14
Case No. 534402
Regular Panel Decision
Dec 15, 2022

In the Matter of the Claim of Donald Oberg

Donald Oberg, an automobile mechanic, appealed a Workers' Compensation Board decision denying his request to amend his claim to include bilateral shoulder injuries. Oberg had an established claim for neck injuries from an August 2020 work-related motor vehicle accident. Conflicting medical opinions arose regarding the causal relationship of his bilateral shoulder injuries, with his treating orthopedist, Joseph Giovinazzo, opining they were causally related, and independent medical examiner Vito Loguidice concluding they were not. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge initially credited Giovinazzo and amended the claim, but the Board rescinded this, crediting Loguidice's opinion based on medical evidence and accident video. The Appellate Division affirmed the Board's decision, finding substantial evidence supported the Board's determination to disallow the amendment.

Workers' CompensationShoulder InjuryCausal RelationshipMedical EvidenceIndependent Medical ExaminationTreating PhysicianAppellate ReviewBoard DecisionConflicting Medical OpinionsMotor Vehicle Accident
References
5
Case No. 533203
Regular Panel Decision
Oct 06, 2022

In the Matter of the Claim of Meggan Cotterell

Claimant Meggan Cotterell, a resident assistant, was injured at work on September 13, 2015, sustaining lower back injuries. In 2018, it was determined she also suffered a causally-related right hip labral tear. The employer and carrier objected to amending her claim to include the hip injury, arguing it was untimely under Workers' Compensation Law § 28. A WCLJ credited the testimony of claimant's treating orthopedist, Matthew Stein, who diagnosed the hip injury in June 2017, and amended the claim. The Workers' Compensation Board affirmed, and the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, also affirmed, finding that numerous medical reports filed within two years of the accident, establishing bilateral hip pain, were sufficient to provide the Board with facts from which a claim for compensation could be reasonably inferred, thus preventing the claim from being time-barred under Workers' Compensation Law § 28.

Workers' CompensationHip InjuryLabral TearTimeliness of ClaimAmendment of ClaimStatute of LimitationsMedical EvidenceOrthopedist TestimonyCausal RelationshipPreexisting Condition
References
7
Case No. CV-24-1279
Regular Panel Decision
Dec 11, 2025

In the Matter of the Claim of Michael Howard

Claimant Michael Howard appealed a Workers' Compensation Board decision denying his request to amend his claim to include bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Howard sustained multiple injuries in a 2018 assault, and his claim was later amended for various conditions. His treating physician, Ranga Krishna, diagnosed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome in 2021, linking it to the 2018 accident. However, the carrier's consultant found a bilateral wrist sprain but no causally related carpal tunnel syndrome after examinations in 2021 and 2023, citing a lack of corroborative clinical findings despite EMG results. Both the Workers' Compensation Law Judge and the Board credited the carrier's consultant, denying the amendment due to insufficient credible evidence of causation. The Appellate Division affirmed the Board's decision, deferring to its factual determinations and assessments of medical witness credibility, which were supported by substantial evidence.

Carpal Tunnel SyndromeCausation DisputeMedical Opinion ConflictCredibility of Medical WitnessesSubstantial Evidence ReviewWorkers' Compensation Board AffirmanceClaim Amendment DenialBilateral Wrist InjuryElectromyography FindingsAppellant Burden of Proof
References
8
Case No. 534205
Regular Panel Decision
Feb 09, 2023

In the Matter of the Claim of Kevin Brennan

Kevin Brennan appealed a Workers' Compensation Board decision filed September 20, 2021. The Board had disallowed his request to amend his claim to include certain consequential gastrointestinal conditions and ruled that his Workers' Compensation Law § 114-a violation disqualified him from receiving a schedule loss of use (SLU) award. Brennan had sustained a work-related back and hip injury in 1995 and was permanently disqualified from wage-replacement benefits in 2002 due to a § 114-a violation. In 2019, he sought to amend his claim for gastrointestinal issues. Both his treating physician, Atif Saleem, and an independent medical examiner, Ira Breite, could not definitively establish a causal link between his work injury/medications and the gastrointestinal conditions. The Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, affirmed the Board's decision, finding substantial evidence supported the denial of the amendment and that a § 114-a violation indeed precludes SLU awards under Workers' Compensation Law § 15.

Workers' Compensation Law § 114-a ViolationSchedule Loss of UseWage Replacement Benefits DisqualificationConsequential Gastrointestinal ConditionsCausal RelationshipMedical Evidence SufficiencyIndependent Medical ExaminationTreating Physician TestimonyAdministrative AppealAppellate Division Review
References
19
Case No. No. 12
Regular Panel Decision
Apr 01, 2021

The Matter of the Claim of Estate of Norman Youngjohn v. Berry Plastics Corporation

Decedent Norman Youngjohn, employed by Berry Plastics Corporation, suffered work-related injuries to his right shoulder and left elbow in 2014, leading to a workers' compensation claim. Before his permanent partial disability benefits claim for a schedule loss of use (SLU) award was resolved, Youngjohn died in March 2017 from a heart attack unrelated to his work injuries. He left no surviving spouse, minor children, or qualifying dependents. His estate sought the full value of the posthumous SLU award, arguing that 2009 amendments to the Workers' Compensation Law, which permitted lump sum SLU payments, rendered WCL § 15 (4) (d) inapplicable. This section limits an estate's recovery for unaccrued SLU benefits to reasonable funeral expenses in cases of unrelated death without qualifying survivors. The Workers' Compensation Board limited the award to funeral expenses, while the Appellate Division held that the estate was entitled to the portion accrued up to the date of death plus reasonable funeral expenses. The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division's order, concluding that the 2009 amendments on lump sum payments did not implicitly alter WCL § 15 (4) (d)'s limitation on an estate's recovery of posthumous SLU awards. The Court emphasized that section 15 (4) (d) remains in effect and must be harmonized with the amendments, limiting recovery to benefits accrued before death and reasonable funeral expenses for the remainder.

Workers' Compensation LawPermanent Partial DisabilitySchedule Loss of Use (SLU)Lump Sum PaymentEstate RecoveryFuneral ExpensesStatutory InterpretationAccrual of BenefitsNew York Court of AppealsUnrelated Death
References
35
Case No. 534142
Regular Panel Decision
Jun 23, 2022

In the Matter of the Claim of Portia Blanch

Claimant Portia Blanch appealed a decision of the Workers' Compensation Board. Initially, Blanch established a workers' compensation claim for a head injury in 2018. When the employer's carrier raised an issue of labor market attachment, Blanch sought to amend her claim to include postconcussion syndrome with posttraumatic headaches. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) denied the amendment, finding no causal relation for the new conditions and that Blanch had voluntarily removed herself from the labor market from July 6, 2018. The Board affirmed the WCLJ's decision. This Court previously modified that decision, setting the labor market attachment date to July 13, 2020, and reversing the rescission of indemnity benefits for July 7, 2018, to July 12, 2020. Blanch also applied for reconsideration and/or full Board review of the December 2020 decision, which was denied. This appeal challenges that denial. However, since this Court had already granted the relief Blanch sought regarding the rescinded benefits in the prior appeal, the current appeal was dismissed as moot.

Workers' Compensation BenefitsLabor Market AttachmentPostconcussion SyndromePosttraumatic HeadachesBoard ReconsiderationAppellate ReviewMootness DoctrineIndemnity PaymentsCausal RelationshipWork-Related Injury Claim
References
1
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