Chenango Valley CSD, Employer
No. G0910941
New York Workers Compensation
January 6, 2020
Date
of Accident: 06/02/2014
District
Office: Binghamton
Carrier:
Chenango Valley Central, Carrier ID No.: W812079, Carrier
Case No.: 0024W13161
Claimant's Attorney: Hinman Howard & Kattell
Panel:
Clarissa M. Rodriguez
MANDATORY
FULL BOARD REVIEW FULL BOARD MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
The
Full Board, at its meeting on December 17, 2019, considered
the above captioned case for Mandatory Full Board Review of
the Board Panel Memorandum of Decision filed August 9, 2019.
ISSUES
The
issues presented for Mandatory Full Board Review are:
1.
whether the claimant involuntarily retired; and
2.
whether the claimant is entitled to reduced earnings.
The
Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) found that the
claimant's retirement was involuntary and that she was
entitled to reduced earnings as she returned to work as a
substitute teacher.
The
Board Panel majority found that the claimant voluntarily
retired from her job as a teacher's aide and that she was
not entitled to reduced earnings.
The
dissenting Board Panel member would also find that the
claimant voluntarily retired but would find that she
subsequently reattached to the labor market and was entitled
to reduced earnings awards.
The
claimant filed an application for Mandatory Full Board Review
on September 6, 2019, arguing that even assuming that the
claimant voluntarily retired, the claimant reattached to the
labor market by subsequently obtaining a position as a
substitute teacher.
The
self-insured employer (SIE) filed a rebuttal on October 3,
2019, requesting that the decision of the Board Panel
majority be adopted by the Full Board.
Upon
review, the Full Board votes to adopt the following findings
and conclusions.
FACTS
On June
2, 2014, the claimant, a special education teacher's
aide, was injured when a student kicked a basketball that hit
her in the back of the head. This claim is established for
injuries to the head, neck, and right shoulder. The average
weekly wage (AWW) has been set at $222.02.
In an
RFA-1LC (Request for Further Action by Legal Counsel) filed
on November 27, 2018, the claimant's attorney noted that
the "[c]laimant has continuous evidence...