Matter of N.Y.S. Dept of Corrections, Employer
No. G1835901
New York Workers Compensation
February 3, 2020
Date
of Accident: 09/28/2018
Issue:
Workers’ Compensation Law § 2(7) – stress
District
Office: Albany
Carrier:
State Insurance Fund, Carrier ID No.: W204002, Carrier Case
No.: 71671689-092
Claimant's Attorney: Kirk & Teff LLP
Panel:
Clarissa M. Rodriguez
MANDATORY
FULL BOARD REVIEW FULL BOARD MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
The
Full Board, at its meeting on January 14, 2020, considered
the above captioned case for Mandatory Full Board Review of
the Board Panel Memorandum of Decision filed August 12, 2019.
ISSUE
The
issue presented for Mandatory Full Board Review is whether
mental injuries sustained by claimant as the result of
work-related stress are compensable.
The
Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) established the
claim for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and
depression.
The
Board Panel majority affirmed the WCLJ.
The
dissenting Board Panel member would disallow the claim.
The
carrier filed an application for Mandatory Full Board Review
on September 9, 2019, arguing that the claim should be
disallowed because claimant did not sustain a physical injury
and because the stress claimant experienced was no more than
that experienced by other corrections officers in juvenile
corrections facilities.
The
claimant filed a timely rebuttal on October 1, 2019, arguing
that the medical evidence of causal relationship was not
contradicted, that he experienced stress that was greater
than that experienced by similarly situated workers, and that
the claim should be established.
Upon
review, the Full Board votes to adopt the following findings
and conclusions.
FACTS
Claimant,
a corrections officer, filed a C-3 (Employee Claim) on
October 11, 2018, alleging that on September 28, 2018, an
inmate threw an "unknown substance" on him. In a
report based on an October 15, 2018, examination, Rebeka
Lange, a Physician's Assistant supervised by Dr.
McKracken, stated that claimant reported "having
increasing anxiety since he had a incident occur at work. Pt
states he was at work on September 28, 2018 and an inmate
threw some sort of bodily fluids at his face. Pt state he had
it in his mouth, eyes and ears." Claimant indicated that
he had not been back to work since the incident. PA Lange and
Dr. McKracken diagnosed causally related anxiety...