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

Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Cravotta v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

The petitioner, a New York City sanitation worker, sustained a knee injury after allegedly slipping on a sanitation truck step contaminated by a slippery substance from a dump site. His application for accidental disability retirement benefits from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) was denied, as his injury was not deemed an "accident" under Retirement and Social Security Law § 605-b. The petitioner challenged this determination, but both the Supreme Court and the appellate court affirmed the denial. The courts found that the injury occurred during routine duties and was not so extraordinary or unexpected as to constitute an accidental injury.

Accidental disabilityRetirement benefitsSanitation workerKnee injurySlipping accidentRoutine dutiesNYCERSAdministrative determinationJudicial reviewAnnulment petition
References
7
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Leary v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

Dorothy Leary, a part-time junior public health nurse for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, injured her left knee after slipping on stairs due to wet shoes from snow outside. Her application for disability retirement benefits was denied by the Board of Trustees of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, following a recommendation from the Medical Board that her injuries were not sustained as an 'accident' under Retirement and Social Security Law § 605. Leary challenged this determination through a CPLR article 78 proceeding, which the Supreme Court initially denied. However, the appellate court reversed this judgment, granted Leary's petition, annulled the Board's determination, and remitted the matter for further proceedings, concluding that her fall constituted an accident.

Workers' CompensationDisability RetirementPublic Health NurseSlip and Fall InjuryAccident DefinitionCPLR Article 78Medical Board ReviewAppellate ReversalRetirement and Social Security LawKings County Supreme Court
References
7
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
May 12, 1988

Torres v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

The petitioner, a Rikers Island correction officer, sought to annul the New York City Employees’ Retirement System’s denial of his application for accident disability retirement benefits. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the petition, finding that the Medical Board and Board of Trustees' determination was neither arbitrary nor capricious. The court found that the petitioner's injuries occurred after he completed his tour of duty and signed out, while leaving the premises on a Correction Department bus, not in the actual performance of city service. This decision was based on Administrative Code of the City of New York § 13-168, which requires injury during city service for eligibility. The court also clarified that eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits was not binding on the Medical Board for accident disability benefits, referencing Administrative Code § 13-176 (c).

accident disability retirementRikers Island correction officercity serviceNew York City Employees’ Retirement SystemMedical BoardBoard of TrusteesCPLR Article 78workers' compensationadministrative coderetirement benefits
References
3
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Brown v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

A maintenance employee for the New York City Housing Authority sustained a right knee injury in March 1978 during a mugging and reinjured it in May 1979 while moving a refrigerator. His application for accident disability retirement was denied by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, whose medical board found no causal relationship between the 1978 incident and the disability, and no accident in 1979. Special Term initially vacated this determination, concluding the 1979 event was an accident. However, the Appellate Division reversed Special Term's judgment, holding that an injury occurring without an unexpected event during ordinary employment duties does not constitute an accidental injury. The court found that the petitioner failed to prove an unexpected event, as his knee merely 'gave way' while moving a refrigerator, and therefore dismissed the petition.

Accident Disability RetirementNew York City Employees’ Retirement SystemKnee InjuryPerformance of DutiesCausal RelationshipMedical Board OpinionCPLR Article 78Appellate ReviewAccidental Injury DefinitionBurden of Proof
References
3
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Borenstein v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

This appeal addresses the proper standard for judicial review of a determination by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) Medical Board regarding an applicant's physical disability for city-service. The respondent, an Assistant Deputy Warden, sought accidental disability retirement benefits after sustaining injuries at Rikers Island, but the Medical Board repeatedly found her not medically disabled despite conflicting medical opinions. While the Supreme Court initially dismissed her petition, the Appellate Division reversed, granting her pension. The Court of Appeals, however, reversed the Appellate Division, upholding the Medical Board’s determination as it was based on 'some credible evidence' and was not arbitrary or capricious. The court emphasized that the Medical Board has the authority to resolve conflicting medical evidence and that judicial review should not substitute its judgment for the Board's.

Judicial reviewDisability benefitsAccidental disabilityNYCERSMedical BoardCPLR Article 78Substantial evidenceArbitrary and capriciousAdministrative lawConflicting medical evidence
References
12
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Cassarino v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

The petitioner sought accidental disability retirement benefits, but the Board of Trustees of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System denied the application on December 13, 2007. The Supreme Court reviewed this denial and found that the Board's determination was not arbitrary and capricious. The court reasoned that the petitioner's injuries arose from the performance of usual duties as a sanitation worker, citing prior cases. Furthermore, the court determined that the petitioner's slip or trip on a strap within a sanitation truck was not sufficiently extraordinary or unexpected to qualify as an 'accidental' injury under the law. Consequently, the Supreme Court affirmed the Board's denial of benefits.

Accidental DisabilityRetirement BenefitsSanitation WorkerNew York City Employees’ Retirement SystemJudicial ReviewAdministrative DeterminationInjury CausationOrdinary DutiesAppellate DivisionSocial Security Law
References
3
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Vargas v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

The petitioner sought accidental disability retirement benefits from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System. The Board of Trustees denied the application based on the Medical Board's determination. The petitioner appealed a Supreme Court judgment that had denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, finding that the Medical Board's determination was conclusive as it was supported by credible evidence and was not irrational. The court emphasized that the resolution of conflicting medical opinions falls within the Medical Board's purview and that a Workers’ Compensation Board disability determination does not dictate the Medical Board’s findings.

Disability benefitsRetirement SystemAccidental disabilityMedical BoardCredible evidenceIrrational determinationAdministrative reviewAppellate procedurePension fundCPLR Article 78
References
10
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
Jun 11, 1990

Waldeck v. New York City Employees' Retirement System

A New York Supreme Court panel reversed a lower court's decision that had granted a deferred retirement allowance to a Department of Sanitation employee, Barbaro. Barbaro, a member of NYCERS since 1969, sought a deferred retirement allowance in July 1989, with an intended retirement date of August 18, 1989. However, he was dismissed on August 17, 1989, for soliciting unlawful payments. The appellate court determined that his dismissal occurred prior to his intended retirement date, thereby rendering him ineligible for the vested retirement allowance under Administrative Code § 13-173.1. The court clarified that the effective date of discharge was when the Commissioner signed the termination letter, irrespective of the date for commencing an appeal.

Retirement AllowancePublic EmployeeDismissalVestingAdministrative LawCivil ServiceNew York CityDepartment of SanitationAppellate ReviewEmployment Law
References
1
Case No. No. 78 Civ. 2541-CSH
Regular Panel Decision
Mar 09, 1987

Hannahs v. NY STATE TEACHERS'RET. SYSTEM

Plaintiff Bessie Hannahs, a retired teacher, challenged the use of sex-differentiated actuarial tables by the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) to calculate retirement benefits, alleging discrimination. The defendants moved for summary judgment, citing intervening Supreme Court authority in Norris and subsequent Second Circuit rulings in Spirt II. The court granted summary judgment for the defendants, finding that Norris precluded retroactive relief due to the financial burden on the guaranteed annuity plan. The court also determined that NYSTRS's post-Norris implementation, which involved using merged gender mortality tables ("midpointing") for contributions made after August 1, 1983, complied with federal law, rejecting the plaintiff's argument for "topping up" benefits and any state law considerations that would mandate it.

Retirement BenefitsActuarial TablesGender DiscriminationTitle VIISummary JudgmentProspective ReliefRetroactive ReliefMidpointingTopping UpPension Plans
References
10
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Aronson v. New York City Employees Retirement System

Esther Aronson, a former New York City social worker, sued the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS) for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging violations of her constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 and the Fourteenth Amendment. Aronson sought reinstatement in NYCERS, arguing that her pension rights were unlawfully terminated without due process when she was unable to transfer pension plans in May 1988, five years after her dismissal from city service in 1983. NYCERS moved for dismissal, asserting a statute of limitations defense. The court converted the motion to summary judgment and ruled in favor of NYCERS, concluding that Aronson's cause of action accrued on June 1, 1983, the date of her termination, as she knew or should have known of the impact on her pension rights at that time. Consequently, her claims were dismissed as time-barred.

Pension ForfeitureStatute of LimitationsDue Process Clause42 U.S.C. Section 1983Workers' Compensation BenefitsEmployment TerminationSummary JudgmentAdministrative CodeRetirement PlansConstitutional Rights
References
9
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