A project-specific wrap-up policy covered the claimant’s final worksite and the location of the last alleged harmful noise exposure. Other carriers therefore argued that the wrap-up policy should bear the occupational hearing-loss claim. LOIS Associate Chris Xyloportas and Paralegal Chrystalla Karamanis developed a broader exposure history that changed the coverage analysis.
Using union records and testimony obtained through direct and cross-examination, the LOIS team established that the claimant had worked for the same employer for approximately 16 years across many projects and had encountered loud tools and trade noise at each location. The evidence showed a continuous employment-based exposure pattern rather than a condition uniquely attributable to the last wrap-up project.
In summation, Attorney Xyloportas argued that the employer’s operational policy—not the project-specific wrap-up policy—was responsible under the governing occupational hearing-loss framework. The New York Workers’ Compensation Law Judge agreed. The result protected the client from liability despite the intuitive but incomplete argument that the policy covering the final site must automatically respond.
