LOIS Dismisses Facial Scarring Case

LOIS Associate Bradley Haymes and Paralegal Rafaela Teixeira obtained a disallowance in a New York Workers’ Compensation claim related to facial injuries. The Claimant alleged an injury to the face either from metal shards coming from a saw or wiping his face with his glove with metal shards. At trial, the Claimant provided two lay witnesses to support his account of a buzz saw malfunction. On cross-examination, neither the Claimant nor his witnesses could confirm when the alleged injury occurred. The Law Judge noted medical reports indicating metal fragments in the Claimant’s face. However, the Law Judge disallowed the claim on the basis that the Claimant failed to establish a causal relationship. The Claimant’s doctor could not provide an opinion on the likelihood on the mechanism of injury. The Claimant provided different possible mechanisms of injury and also testified to an unrelated medical procedure that caused similar facial injuries. Because the Claimant could not disprove that the injury did not come from a source unrelated to work, the claim was disallowed.