by Melissa Day | Feb 11, 2022 | Firm News, I'm MAD, NYS Workers Compensation
Successfully arguing the influential case of Burns v. Varriale, 9 N.Y. 3d 207 (2007), has been the highlight of Melissa Day’s career as an attorney. You can now watch a video of the oral argument from this case – click here to watch the video. The video...
by Melissa Day | Aug 16, 2021 | Firm News, MAD News, NYS Workers Compensation
One of the greatest things the Board ever did for carriers was include a provision in the 2018 Workers’ Compensation Guidelines for Determining Impairment (“Guidelines”) that providers need to measure range of motion of unaffected contralateral limb and use that as a...
by Melissa Day | Aug 9, 2021 | Firm News, I'm MAD, NYS Workers Compensation
In a recent claim, we obtained surveillance of a claimant performing activities well outside of their doctor’s restrictions. From there, we obtained social media sweep-reports. Of note, the carrier’s obligation to disclose surveillance materials applies not just...
by Melissa Day | Aug 2, 2021 | Firm News, MAD News, NYS Workers Compensation
As everyone probably knows, Workers’ Compensation Law §21(4) presumes that a work-related accident isn’t only due to an employee’s intoxication on the job, unless there is substantial evidence to the contrary. Workers’ Compensation Law §10(1) similarly says that an...
by Melissa Day | Jul 26, 2021 | Firm News, I'm MAD, NYS Workers Compensation
The issue of apportionment is confusing. Many attorneys apply the wrong standard, the wrong timing, or both which can lead to a hodgepodge of contradicting decisions by Judge’s and also sometimes by the Board. One type of apportionment is “legal apportionment.” ...
by Melissa Day | Jul 19, 2021 | Firm News, MAD News, NYS Workers Compensation
There have been several cases recently where Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (“CTS”) was determined by providers as causally related to the accident of record in the file. At first, this determination of causal relationship seemed pretty straight forward, but a “deep dive”...
by Melissa Day | Jul 12, 2021 | Firm News, MAD News, NYS Workers Compensation
It’s well known in the Workers Compensation community that the threshold for meeting Prima Facie Medical Evidence (PFME) is extremely low. However, one argument that the Board has found to be quite compelling, is that “pain” is not an injury. There have been some past...
by Melissa Day | Jul 5, 2021 | Firm News, I'm MAD, NYS Workers Compensation
One fateful morning, white smoke appeared over a street in New York City following the explosion of an underground pipe insulated with asbestos, bits of which littered the scene. And where was the claimant? At home, having worked the night shift, and wouldn’t return...
by Melissa Day | Jun 28, 2021 | Firm News, MAD News, NYS Workers Compensation
At LOMAD, we monitor the Third Department for case law updated to stay on the cutting-edge of workers’ compensation law in New York. This month we noted an interesting decision in Allen v. CPP-Syracuse, that provides a helpful reminder to all of us when we are...
by Melissa Day | Jun 1, 2021 | Firm News, MAD News, NYS Workers Compensation
In a case was established for the right knee, the claimant ultimately underwent right total knee replacement surgery. At a hearing, various awards were made, credit to New York State, and a $3,500 attorney fee was awarded, to be taken out of the reimbursement to the...
