Claim of Monahan v. Founders Pavilion, Inc.
Claimant sustained a work-related injury in 2006, leading to a permanent partial disability classification in 2009. The Workers’ Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) directed the employer's workers' compensation carrier to deposit funds into the aggregate trust fund (ATF) per Workers’ Compensation Law § 27 (2). The carrier's appeals were unsuccessful, with the Workers’ Compensation Board affirming the decision. A supplemental decision set the ATF deposit at $127,241.44. During pending appeals, the claimant died in April 2010 from unrelated causes. The carrier requested rescission of the deposit obligation, arguing claimant's death extinguished it. The Board upheld the decision, and the full Board affirmed, imposing a $500 frivolous appeal penalty. The carrier appealed to this Court. The Court affirmed the obligation to pay into the ATF, citing Workers’ Compensation Law § 27 (4), which maintains the obligation regardless of claimant's death during appeal. The Court also found no requirement to recalculate the payment based on interim carrier payments. However, the Court reversed the frivolous appeal penalty, deeming it unwarranted given the dissent at the Board level and the unsettled nature of the legal issue.