In re Gershow Recycling Corp., 080919 NYWC, G1014778

• Case Date: August 09, 2019
• Court: New York

Matter of Gershow Recycling Corp., Employer No. G1014778 New York Workers Compensation August 9, 2019           Date of Accident: 06/22/2013          Issue: Death benefits: rates and beneficiaries          District Office: Hauppauge          Carrier: Hartford Insurance Company, Carrier ID No.: W106751, Carrier Case No.: 011260030138WCO2           Claimant's Attorney: Pasternack, Tilker, Ziegler           Panel: Clarissa M. Rodriguez           MANDATORY FULL BOARD REVIEW FULL BOARD MEMORANDUM OF DECISION          The Full Board, at its meeting on July 16, 2019, considered the above captioned case for Mandatory Full Board Review of the Board Panel Memorandum of Decision filed December 13, 2018.          ISSUES          The issue presented for Mandatory Full Board Review are:

1. whether the record contains sufficient credible evidence that the claimant is the decedent's surviving spouse; and

2. whether the surviving spouse abandoned the decedent.

         The Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ (Workers' Compensation Law Judge)) found that the decedent's name was Angel Valadez-Telez, who was also known as Alejandro Hernandez-Gonzalez, and that the claimant was the lawful widow of the deceased, and made awards.          The Board Panel majority agreed and affirmed the WCLJ decision in its entirety.          The dissenting Board Panel member would find that there is insufficient credible evidence in the record to support a finding that the claimant was the decedent's surviving spouse.          The carrier filed an application for Mandatory Full Board Review on January 9, 2019, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to find that claimant was decedent's widow and that the claimant had abandoned her marriage with decedent.          The claimant did not file a timely rebuttal.          Upon review, the Full Board votes to adopt the following findings and conclusions.          FACTS          WCB #G0780781 was previously established for injuries involving the head (including a skull fracture), fractured facial bones, lungs, acute respiratory failure, acute renal failure, cardiac dysrhythmia, and the neck stemming from a work-related accident on June 3, 2013. The decedent was struck by a steel hook and fell 10 to 12 feet from an elevated platform. The average weekly wage (AWW (average weekly wage)) was set at $987.38.          On June 22, 2013, the decedent passed away. The death certificate indicates that the cause of death was complications of blunt impact injury to the head (see ECF Doc ID# 240878236 in WCB #G1014778). The death certificate indicates that the decedent, Alejandro Hernandez- Gonzalez, was never married, and lists his father as A.H. and his mother as C.G.          In a C-62 form (Claim for Compensation in a Death Case) filed on November 27, 2013, the decedent's alleged widow (hereinafter claimant) reported that the decedent suffered a head injury that resulted in his death.          WCB #G1014778 was subsequently indexed for causally related death as a result of the injuries of the underlying workers' compensation claim.          In a Notice of Decision filed on March 31, 2017, the WCLJ established the claim for a work-related death and directed the carrier to pay $6,000.00 to the employer for funeral...