If you are tired of being treated like a number, call The Law Offices of Melissa A. Day at (716) 616-0111
Rick Costner, Sr. honors the life of his 18 year old son and co-worker, Ricky Costner Jr., after he was murdered in front of him at work by creating and raising funds for the Ricky Costner Jr. College Scholarship Fund I have had the pleasure of attending a benefit at...
I am so tired of seeing claimants get schedule loss of use awards. They do not represent lost time. They are windfalls. I am in the process of drafting a stipulation for a woman who is going to get $15,000 when she had no lost time from work. It’s a gift to her. I...
On October 24, 2017, the Court of Appeals in American Economy Insurance Co. v. State of New York, — N.E.3d —-, 2017 WL 4779421 (N.Y. Ct. of App., Oct. 24, 2017), effectively marked the end of The Fund for Reopened Cases by holding the 2013 amendment to WCL § 25-a is...
Happy Friday the 13th to all! First off, I would like to introduce myself, as this is my first contribution for this blog. My name is Rob Caggiano, and I was recently brought into the LOMAD family as a Law Clerk as I await my bar results and (hopefully) my pending...
In a stunning sua sponte reversal of its prior decisions, the Board has found that the Medical Treatment Guidelines apply to out of state treatment. In the case, Hospice Inc., WCB# 5951 3410, the workers compensation law judge found objections to medical treatment in...
By – Melissa A. Day and James B. Cousins Right now, WCL §35 is a unknown quantity for WC practitioners. Section 35(3) allows for an “Extreme hardship redetermination” which allows any claimant, classified with an LWEC of “greater than 80 percent” to apply “within the...
The Board’s now-longstanding process re-engineering has hit on some very good ideas (Desk 32s for example) and some duds (Binding Arbitration). That being said, at their own admission, the Board has been seeking out cases where hearings are unnecessary and trying,...
It’s the Holiday Season! Pay Your 32s Early Without Worry! (Or Another Rhyme at Christmas Time) Workers’ Compensation Settlements rev up this time of year; claimants and carriers/SIEs are looking to close files and the volume of 32 approvals from October through...
HAPPY HALLO-WEAN! Today the Board issued Subject Number 064 – 892 which creates a “hearing process” for addressing opioid weaning issues. In support of this new process the Board recognizes that the Non-Acute Pain Medical Treatment Guidelines clearly indicate that...
TO WEAN, OR NOT TO WEAN, THAT IS THE QUESTION. The Board Panel, in a recent October 2016 Decision, considered the issue of whether a Claimant’s opioid medications were appropriate. Significantly, in this case the claimant was classified with a permanent total...
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...
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...
In a contentious hearing, LOMAD prevailed proving that a claimant voluntarily retired, effectively removing herself from the labor market and the claimant’s subsequent part-time job did not support any claim for reduced earnings. The claimant, who worked at a...
This was a controverted claim for chemical exposure for an accident which occurred in 2019. The claimant was working as a bus driver and alleged that she was exposed to fuel additives somehow coming out of the heating vents, and that she has been subject to repeat...