Bass v. Westchester Concrete, Inc.
This case involves an appeal from a Workers’ Compensation Board decision, which was initially filed on March 14, 1980, and later amended on September 17, 1980. The employer's insurance carrier sought reimbursement from the Special Disability Fund under Workers’ Compensation Law § 15(8), claiming a known prior physical impairment of bilateral deafness in the claimant. The record established that the claimant's total disability stemmed from a severe psychoneurotic disorder, with a pre-existing psychiatric condition materially and substantially exacerbating the present disability due to a compensable accident. However, the appeal found no substantial evidence that the employer had prior knowledge of this psychiatric condition; only the bilateral deafness was known, which was deemed incidental to the current disability. Consequently, the Board's decision, which presumably denied reimbursement, was affirmed, with costs awarded to the Special Disability Fund.