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

Case No. 2023 NY Slip Op 03890
Regular Panel Decision
Jul 20, 2023

Matter of Perry v. DOCCS Clinton Corr. Facility

Claimant Robert Perry, a correction officer, initially filed a workers' compensation claim in January 2017 for injuries to his left hand and wrist. This claim was established, leading to an award for schedule loss of use of his left hand in September 2019. Subsequently, in May 2020, Perry was diagnosed with left elbow epicondylitis, which he sought to include as a causally-related injury to his existing claim. The employer and carrier argued the amendment was untimely under Workers' Compensation Law § 28. While a Workers' Compensation Law Judge initially permitted the amendment, the Workers' Compensation Board reversed, deeming the left elbow claim time-barred due to not being filed within two years of the original accident. The Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed the Board's decision, concluding that the Board properly found no evidence of an injury to the left elbow in claimant's medical records prior to May 2020, and that the Board, as the sole arbiter of credibility, was free to prioritize medical records over claimant's conflicting testimony regarding earlier elbow pain, thus upholding the denial of the claim and the subsequent denial of reconsideration.

Workers' Compensation LawTimeliness of ClaimLeft Elbow InjuryMedical MisdiagnosisSchedule Loss of UseWorkers' Compensation Board DecisionAppellate DivisionCorrectional OfficerClaim AmendmentStatute of Limitations
References
6
Case No. CV-23-0524
Regular Panel Decision
Oct 10, 2024

Matter of Becker v. United Cerebral Palsy Assoc.

Claimant Sofia Becker injured her right ankle in December 2000, leading to an established workers' compensation claim and consequential injuries to her left wrist and both knees with assigned schedule loss of use. In September 2021, claimant fell at home, injuring her left elbow, and sought to amend her claim to include this as a consequential injury. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) initially found prima facie medical evidence for the consequential injury but later disallowed the claim, a decision affirmed by the Workers' Compensation Board (Board). The Board determined the left elbow injury was a regular, unrelated slip-and-fall accident, lacking a consequential causal relationship to her prior established injuries. The Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed the Board's decision, finding it supported by substantial evidence due to the absence of medical opinion linking the elbow injury to prior compensable injuries and conflicting independent medical examination findings.

Workers' CompensationConsequential InjuryCausationMedical EvidenceSchedule Loss of UseSlip and FallBoard DecisionAppellate ReviewCredibility AssessmentOrthopedic Injury
References
7
Case No. CV-23-0524
Regular Panel Decision
Oct 10, 2024

In the Matter of the Claim of Sofia Becker

Claimant Sofia Becker appealed a Workers' Compensation Board decision denying her request to amend an established claim for a consequential left elbow injury. Becker previously sustained a work-related right ankle injury in 2000, which led to established consequential injuries to her left wrist and both knees, with various schedule loss of use awards. In 2021, she fell at home, injuring her left elbow, and sought to link this to her prior compensable conditions. Both a Workers' Compensation Law Judge and the Board found the fall to be an unrelated slip-and-fall accident, determining she failed to prove a causal relationship between the elbow injury and her established claims. The Appellate Division affirmed the Board's decision, concluding that substantial evidence supported the Board's finding due to a lack of competent medical evidence establishing a causal connection.

Workers' CompensationConsequential InjuryLeft Elbow InjuryRight Ankle InjurySchedule Loss of Use (SLU)CausalityMedical EvidenceAppellate ReviewBoard Decision AffirmedSlip-and-Fall
References
7
Case No. 534849
Regular Panel Decision
Jul 20, 2023

In the Matter of the Claim of Robert Perry

Claimant Robert Perry, a correction officer, appealed two decisions from the Workers' Compensation Board. Initially, Perry filed a claim in January 2017 for left hand and wrist injuries, which was established. He later sought to amend his claim in 2020 to include a causally-related left elbow injury, diagnosed in May 2020 and surgically repaired in February 2021. The Board, reversing a WCLJ decision, found the claim for the elbow injury time-barred under Workers' Compensation Law § 28, as it was filed more than two years after the original accident. The Board also denied Perry's application for reconsideration. The Appellate Division affirmed the Board's decisions, ruling that the claim for the left elbow injury was indeed time-barred and that the Board did not abuse its discretion in denying reconsideration, having properly weighed the evidence including conflicting medical records and claimant's testimony.

Workers' Compensation Law § 28Statute of LimitationsTimely FilingClaim AmendmentLeft Elbow InjuryMedical MisdiagnosisWorkers' Compensation BoardAppellate ReviewFactual IssueSubstantial Evidence
References
6
Case No. 2020 NY Slip Op 06424 [188 AD3d 1381]
Regular Panel Decision
Nov 12, 2020

Matter of Hluska v. Central New York Psychiatric Ctr.

Claimant Kevin Hluska, who previously received a 13% schedule loss of use (SLU) award for his left arm due to a 2016 shoulder injury, sustained a new work-related injury to his left elbow in 2017. His physician determined this new injury resulted in a 10% SLU of the left arm. The Workers' Compensation Law Judge and the Workers' Compensation Board ruled that claimant was not entitled to a further SLU award for the elbow injury because the previous SLU award for the same arm exceeded the current impairment. The Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed this decision, citing Workers' Compensation Law § 15 (3), which limits SLU awards for permanent impairments to specific body parts and allows for multiple awards only if for more than one member or parts of more than one member, but the total award for a member is capped.

Schedule Loss of UseSLU AwardLeft Arm InjuryElbow InjuryShoulder InjuryWorkers' Compensation Board DecisionAppellate Division Third DepartmentPermanent ImpairmentPrior AwardSubsequent Injury
References
4
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Claim of LeFever v. City of Cortland Fire Department

Claimant, a firefighter, suffered a compensable right elbow injury in 1999, which later evolved into a permanent partial disability of his left upper extremity and elbow by 2005. He retired in 2003 due to a non-work-related cardiac arrest that rendered him unable to perform his duties. After classification of his left elbow injury, claimant sought postretirement benefits, asserting that this compensable injury contributed to his decision to retire. The Workers’ Compensation Board agreed, awarding benefits, a decision subsequently affirmed on appeal. The appellate court found substantial evidence supported the Board's determination that the claimant's compensable disability was a factor in his retirement, thus not constituting a voluntary withdrawal from the labor market.

Workers' CompensationPermanent Partial DisabilityVoluntary Withdrawal from Labor MarketRetirement BenefitsCardiac ArrestElbow InjuryAppellate ReviewSubstantial EvidenceMedical TestimonyDisability Retirement
References
4
Case No. 534614
Regular Panel Decision
Feb 16, 2023

In the Matter of the Claim of Joseph Marcellino

The case involves an appeal from a Workers' Compensation Board decision concerning claimant Joseph Marcellino's eligibility for a schedule loss of use (SLU) award for permanent injuries to his left elbow and left thumb. Following an April 2015 accident, Marcellino had established claims for multiple injuries, undergoing surgery in 2016. Conflicting medical opinions arose between his treating orthopedic surgeon, Dimitro Christoforou, who assessed significant SLU percentages, and the carrier's orthopedic surgeon, Peter Spohn, who found minimal or no SLU for the left hand, wrist, and thumb. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) credited Spohn's opinion, awarding 15% SLU for the left wrist but no permanency for the left elbow or left thumb. The Workers' Compensation Board affirmed this decision. On appeal, the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, affirmed the Board's decision, reiterating that the Board has the discretion to resolve conflicting medical opinions and reject medical evidence even without opposing proof, finding their determination supported by substantial evidence.

Workers' Compensation LawSchedule Loss of UsePermanent Partial DisabilityMedical EvidenceConflicting Medical OpinionsCredibility AssessmentAppellate DivisionWorkers' Compensation BoardOrthopedic InjuriesElbow Injury
References
7
Case No. 2022 NY Slip Op 04294
Regular Panel Decision
Jul 06, 2022

Froehlich v. Kimco Realty Corp.

Dennis Froehlich (plaintiff) sued Kimco Realty Corporation et al. (defendants) for personal injuries, specifically a left elbow fracture, sustained from a fall. During discovery, defendants sought to compel the plaintiff to release workers' compensation, disability, and medical records for unrelated, preexisting injuries to his right shoulder and both knees. The Supreme Court denied the defendants' motion. On appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed the denial, holding that the plaintiff had not waived the physician-patient privilege for unrelated conditions as his claim for damages was limited to the left elbow injury and he had not advanced broad allegations of injury or claimed exacerbation of prior conditions.

Personal InjuryDiscoveryMedical RecordsPhysician-Patient PrivilegePreexisting InjuriesWaiver of PrivilegeScope of DiscoveryAppellate ReviewLeft Elbow InjurySuffolk County
References
9
Case No. 533217
Regular Panel Decision
Jun 23, 2022

Matter of Kromer v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions

Claimant Douglas A. Kromer established a workers' compensation claim for a work-related rotator cuff tear in his left shoulder. While a Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) initially found a 35% schedule loss of use (SLU) of the left arm, the Workers' Compensation Board modified this to 20%, crediting the opinion of Gerald Coniglio, an orthopedic surgeon. The Board further ruled that Kromer was not entitled to a further SLU award due to prior left elbow SLU awards totaling 30%, which exceeded the current 20% award. The Appellate Division reversed the Board's decision, remitting the matter for further consideration. The court found that the Board failed to consider whether the shoulder injury resulted in an increased loss of use of the left arm beyond the prior elbow injuries and also lacked a rational basis for not adding value for a posterior extension defect in the SLU calculation, departing from its own precedent.

Workers' CompensationSchedule Loss of Use (SLU)Rotator Cuff InjuryShoulder InjuryLeft ArmPrior Injury OffsetMedical OpinionImpairment GuidelinesAppellate ReviewRemittal
References
19
Case No. 2023 NY Slip Op 00899, 534614
Regular Panel Decision
Feb 16, 2023

Matter of Marcellino v. National Grid

Claimant Joseph Marcellino appealed a Workers' Compensation Board decision finding no permanent injury to his left elbow and denying a schedule loss of use (SLU) award for it, and affirming no SLU for his left thumb. Claimant had established injuries from an April 2015 accident, including to his left elbow and thumb, and underwent surgery in 2016. His treating orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Christoforou, initially opined significant SLU percentages in 2017. However, an August 2020 examination by Dr. Spohn, retained by the carrier, found no range of motion deficits for the left hand, wrist, or thumb, suggesting 0% SLU for these, though he did suggest 15% SLU for carpal tunnel syndrome based on guidelines. The Workers' Compensation Law Judge credited Dr. Spohn's opinion, a finding affirmed by the Board, which discounted Dr. Christoforou's conflicting opinions due to inconsistencies in his own prior findings. The Appellate Division affirmed the Board's decision, stating that the Board has discretion to resolve conflicting medical opinions and reject evidence, even if unopposed.

Workers' CompensationSchedule Loss of UsePermanent Partial DisabilityMedical Opinion CredibilityOrthopedic SurgeryLeft Elbow InjuryLeft Thumb InjuryCarpal Tunnel SyndromeAppellate ReviewMedical Evidence
References
7
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