LOIS Argues Late Notice Defense, Achieves Disallowance

LOIS Associate Hannah Bacon and Paralegal Loriana Diaz obtained a disallowance in a New York Workers’ Compensation claim pertaining to alleged orthopedic injuries by successfully arguing that the Claimant failed to provide timely notice of the alleged accident in violation of New York Workers’ Compensation Law Section 18 and that there was insufficient medical evidence of causality. The Claimant was a sanitation engineer who alleged he injured his bilateral shoulders while pushing a heavy cart on May 11, 2022. In his Employee Claim Form C-3, the Claimant alleged that he provided oral notice of the accident to a manager at the company. During testimony, the Claimant confirmed that he reported the accident to that manager, but revealed for the first time that he also reported it to two additional individuals who worked in management not listed on his C-3. Ms. Bacon produced the managers as employer-witnesses, and they all credibly testified that the Claimant never reported the alleged accident or injuries to them. Based upon this, Ms. Bacon successfully argued that the claim must be disallowed, as Workers’ Compensation Law Section 18 provides that written notice of an injury must be given to the Employer within thirty days after an alleged accident. Ms. Bacon highlighted that the requirement of timely notice is critical, as it gives the Employer and Carrier the ability to investigate the circumstances of the accident when information is obtainable and when witnesses can freshly recall the events. In the case at hand, the accident allegedly occurred on May 11, 2022, and the Claimant did not provide written notice to his employer by June 10, 2022. Ms. Bacon argued that this was immensely prejudicial to the Carrier and Employer, and the Claimant failed to satisfy his burden of proving the case. The Law Judge agreed and disallowed the claim.