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Case Law Database

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

Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
Jan 08, 2014

Claim of Angela Page v. Liberty Central School District

The claimant, a school librarian, sought workers' compensation benefits in July 2004 for a disability from toxic mold exposure, leading to an established claim for hypersensitivity and awards for temporary total disability. In 2006, the claim was amended to include multiple chemical sensitivity, and awards for marked disability continued. A Workers’ Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) later classified the claimant with a permanent total disability in March 2010, but the Workers' Compensation Board rescinded this finding and referred the matter to an impartial medical specialist, Theodore Them. Them testified that multiple chemical sensitivity is not a medically recognized condition and that the claimant had no causally-related disability, which the Board credited in its December 2012 decision, finding no further causally-related disability and closing the case. The claimant's subsequent appeal of this decision was not perfected, and an application for reconsideration was denied. An April 2013 WCLJ decision to further develop the record on disability was challenged by the employer, who argued the December 2012 Board decision had resolved the issue. The Board panel agreed with the employer in January 2014, precluding further development of the record, a decision which this Court affirmed on appeal, stating the issue of causally-related disability had been decided and the claimant's remedy was a timely appeal of the prior Board decision.

References
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Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Claim of Forrest v. Lumber

Claimant, a 48-year-old stock-salesperson, experienced chest pains and shortness of breath while lifting merchandise on June 6, 1983. His workers' compensation claim was controverted by the employer on issues of accident, notice, and causal relationship. A Workers’ Compensation Law Judge initially disallowed the claim, finding no causal relationship between claimant’s heart disease and employment. The Workers’ Compensation Board rescinded this decision for an impartial specialist's review. The specialist found angina due to coronary arteriosclerosis, but no causally related disability or compensable lost time. The Board subsequently found no causally related disability and denied benefits, closing the case. Claimant's application for reconsideration was also denied, leading to appeals from both Board decisions. The court affirmed the Board’s decisions, citing substantial medical evidence, particularly from the employer’s witness and the impartial specialist, supporting the finding that the disability was not causally related to employment.

Workers' Compensation AppealCausationMedical Opinion ConflictCoronary ArteriosclerosisAngina PectorisDisability BenefitsBoard Decision AffirmationJudicial ReviewOccupational HealthImpartial Medical Examination
References
4
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Claim of Deblasio v. New York City Department of Highways

Claimant sustained an arm injury in 1984 and subsequently developed Parkinson's disease, leading to total disability. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge initially found the injury aggravated his pre-existing Parkinson's, establishing causal relationship. However, a Workers’ Compensation Board panel rescinded these findings and, after an impartial specialist evaluation, determined the Parkinson's disease was unrelated to the 1984 injury. Claimant appealed this decision. The appellate court affirmed the Board's ruling, finding no abuse of discretion in ordering the impartial evaluation and concluding that the decision was supported by substantial evidence despite conflicting medical testimony.

Parkinson's diseaseworkers' compensationmedical evidenceimpartial specialistcausal relationshipaggravation of conditionsubstantial evidencemedical testimonyappellate reviewtotal disability
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3
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
Feb 13, 1992

Claim of Johns v. Croton Union Free School District

This case involves an appeal from a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Board. The original decision found no causal relationship between the decedent's employment and his suicide, thereby denying workers' compensation benefits to the claimant. The appellate court, reviewing expert opinions from an impartial psychiatrist and an employer-presented board-certified psychiatrist, concluded that the Board's decision was supported by substantial evidence. Consequently, the appellate court affirmed the decision, upholding the denial of benefits.

Workers' CompensationSuicideCausal RelationshipExpert OpinionAppellate ReviewBoard DecisionDenial of BenefitsPsychiatric EvaluationSubstantial Evidence
References
0
Case No. ADJ9139295
Regular
Sep 04, 2015

Arthur Parra vs. COUNTY OF STANISLAUS, YORK RISK SERVICES GROUP, INC.

The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board granted the County of Stanislaus's Petition for Removal because the Administrative Law Judge (WCJ) engaged in ex parte communication with the applicant during a recess. The WCJ's statements to the applicant expressing empathy and discussing the traumatic nature of the events created an appearance of impropriety and raised doubts about his impartiality. This conduct, particularly speaking about case facts off the record, violated due process principles requiring a neutral decision-maker. Consequently, the case was reassigned to a new WCJ to ensure a fair hearing.

Petition for RemovalAppearance of ImproprietyWCJ ImpartialityIndustrial InjuryPsyche InjuryGood Faith Personnel ActionLabor Code Section 3208.3(h)Declaration of Douglas C. SparksRecusal of WCJCode of Judicial Ethics
References
6
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Claim of Jurasin v. A & M Wallboard, Inc.

This appeal concerns a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Board regarding a claimant's disability. After evaluating conflicting expert medical testimony and a report from an impartial orthopedist, the Board determined the claimant had a moderate permanent partial disability and affirmed the referee’s compensation award. The employer and its carrier appealed, contending that liability should be apportioned between the claimant's pre-existing thrombophlebitis and the accidental injury from a fall. The court affirmed the Board's decision, holding that the employer is fully liable for the consequences when an industrial accident aggravates a pre-existing condition, without apportionment. The court found the Board's decision to be supported by substantial evidence.

Permanent Partial DisabilityPre-existing Condition AggravationApportionment of LiabilityMedical Expert TestimonyImpartial Medical ExaminationBoard Decision ReviewEmployer Full LiabilityIndustrial AccidentConflicting Medical OpinionsSubstantial Evidence
References
4
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
May 24, 1990

Claim of Becker v. Amabek, Inc.

This case involves an appeal from a Workers’ Compensation Board decision, filed on May 24, 1990, which denied a claimant's request for workers' compensation benefits due to an alleged accidental injury. The central dispute revolved around the causal relationship between the claimant's condition of anorexia nervosa and her work activities. While claimant's physicians opined that her work history caused or contributed to her condition, the carrier's physician and an impartial specialist determined it was not work-related. The Board resolved this factual issue based on these conflicting medical opinions. Because the Board’s decision was supported by substantial evidence, the appellate court affirmed the decision.

Workers' Compensation AppealAccidental Injury ClaimAnorexia NervosaCausal RelationshipMedical Expert TestimonyConflicting Medical OpinionsFactual DisputeSubstantial Evidence ReviewBoard Decision AffirmedWorkers' Compensation Benefits Denial
References
2
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
Jan 05, 1981

Claim of Tienken v. Dancing Waters, Inc.

The claimant appealed a decision from the Workers’ Compensation Board concerning her husband's death in 1976 due to acute thrombosis of the right coronary artery. Medical experts disagreed on whether his death was work-related; the claimant's expert and an impartial specialist found work activities contributory, while the employer's expert attributed it to pre-existing coronary artery disease. The Board ruled that the death resulted from the natural progression of the disease, not work-related causes. The court affirmed the Board's decision, stating that the conflicting medical evidence created a factual issue for the Board to resolve. The court also found no merit in the claimant's argument that the Board applied the wrong test, concluding that the decision was supported by substantial evidence.

Workers' Compensation Boardmedical expertscausal relationcoronary artery diseaseacute thrombosiswork-related deathsubstantial evidencefactual issueBoard decision affirmedAppellate Division
References
2
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Claim of Buchanon v. Adirondack Steel Casting Co.

The Workers' Compensation Board's decision and amended decision, which found that the claimant did not have a total industrial disability, were affirmed on appeal. The employer's argument regarding the untimeliness of the claimant's supplemental notice of appeal was rejected due to lack of proof of service for the amended decision. The Board's plenary authority to modify previous decisions was upheld, as no facts indicated arbitrary or capricious action in amending its prior decision. The court concluded that the Board's finding of no total industrial disability was supported by substantial evidence, noting that the case involved a conflict of medical opinion, which is a factual matter for the Board to resolve. All remaining arguments by the claimant were considered and dismissed.

Workers' Compensation Law § 23Industrial DisabilityAppellate ReviewBoard Decision AffirmationMedical Opinion ConflictSubstantial EvidenceTimeliness of AppealArbitrary and Capricious StandardFactual DisputeClaimant's Appeal
References
4
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
Aug 19, 1981

Claim of Schultz v. L. B. Smith, Inc.

The case involves an appeal from Workers’ Compensation Board decisions that found a deceased claimant totally disabled and his death causally related to an occupational disease, specifically asbestosis. The claimant had extensive asbestos exposure from 1946 to 1966, leading to lung complications and ultimately death in 1979. Both the treating physician and an impartial specialist linked his disability and death to asbestosis, supported by medical history and pathological findings. The employer challenged these findings, suggesting alternative causes and disputing the timeliness of the claim. However, the Board resolved conflicting medical opinions and found notice to be timely. The appeal from the February 24, 1981 decision was dismissed as moot, while the August 19, 1981 decision was affirmed.

AsbestosisOccupational DiseaseLung DiseaseInterstitial FibrosisPleural FibrosisChronic Obstructive Airway DiseaseCausationMedical Opinion ConflictTimely NoticeDisability
References
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