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Claim of Fitzgerald v. Berkshire Farm Center & Services for Youth
Citations: 87 A.D.3d 353; 927 N.Y.2d 176
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; July 7, 2011; New York; State Appellate Court
Decedent suffered a work-related injury to his left hip and leg in February 1994, receiving workers’ compensation benefits until June 1996, when a 35% schedule loss of use award ended the case. In May 2005, he claimed a consequential right hip condition and sought authorization for left hip replacement surgery, which was performed in November 2005, with subsequent benefits awarded. Following surgery, decedent experienced complications leading to his death in October 2007. In January 2008, his widow filed for death benefits against the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier, which attempted to transfer liability to the Special Fund. The Workers’ Compensation Board determined that the conditions of Workers’ Compensation Law § 25-a (1) were not met, as the Special Fund had paid benefits from November 2005 until the decedent's death. The employer and carrier appealed, leading to a reversal of the Board's decision. The Court clarified that Workers’ Compensation Law § 25-a allows liability to shift to the Special Fund after seven years from the injury and three years from the last compensation payment. Since these timeframes had elapsed before the decedent's death and the Special Fund had made payments during that period, the carrier had no further liability. The Court emphasized that allowing the Special Fund payments to be the basis for liability on the carrier would contradict the statute's intent to protect employers from stale claims. The decision was reversed without costs, and the matter was remitted to the Workers’ Compensation Board for further proceedings consistent with this ruling.