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.