Southard v. Corning Hotel Corp.

Summary

The New York Appellate Division affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision discharging the Special Disability Fund from liability under Workers’ Compensation Law § 15 (8) (d). The court held that the employer failed to show that the claimant’s preexisting arteriovenous malformation materially and substantially increased the disability or compensation liability beyond that caused by her work-related lumbar spine injury.

Holdings

1. The employer failed to prove that claimant's preexisting condition caused a permanent disability materially and substantially greater than the disability caused by the April 2004 work-related injury alone; therefore, reimbursement from the Special Disability Fund was unavailable.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the employer established that claimant's preexisting arteriovenous malformation materially and substantially increased the disability and compensation liability beyond that resulting from the April 2004 work-related injury alone, as required for reimbursement from the Special Disability Fund under Workers' Compensation Law § 15 (8) (d).
2. Whether the Workers' Compensation Board properly discharged the Special Disability Fund from liability.

Disposition

affirmed