LOIS Partner Christian Sison and Paralegal Anastasia Hicks-Hunter achieved a trial victory for a carrier and its insured, a company providing assisted living services, in a New York Workers’ Compensation case. The claimant was a caregiver that returned to work and received a permanency award for impairment to her left arm and left hand. She reopened the case to pursue benefits related to a neck injury, undergoing surgery five years thereafter. After reaching maximum medical improvement, the claimant was precluded from submitting an impairment opinion for missing a judicial deadline and subsequently attempted to reopen the case again by obtaining a modified medical report taking her out of work three months after the surgery.
Attorney Sison and Paralegal Hicks-Hunter successfully opposed the claimant’s request for additional awards, arguing that the Carrier’s permanency payment constituted a credit towards future benefits. They refuted the claimant’s reliance on Krein v. Green Haven Correctional Facility as inapplicable, instead citing Keselman v. New York City Transit Authority, which supports using a prior permanency award as a credit against later lost time claims. Attorney Sison further challenged the credibility of the “new medical evidence”, raised laches due to the claimant’s nearly two year delay in reopening the issue, and noted the absence of any express finding of total disability. The Law Judge upheld the arguments espoused by Attorney Sison. As a result of this outcome, the claimant was found not entitled to new money.
