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Brian K. Prince, Associate Attorney 10/14/2022 Who says that, other than a disallowance, a §32 is the only way to truly close a case? It’s not often that the overlap of two obscure sections of the Workers’ Compensation Law results in a full and final closure on a...
“[T]he doctrine of laches is applicable in workers' compensation proceedings when the remedy is equitable in nature.” Matter of Schroeter v Grand Hyatt Hotel, 262 AD2d 725 [3d Dept. 1999]. Apportionment is not an equitable remedy, and thus the doctrine of laches does...
Anyone else annoyed by claimants who were directed to wean two years ago that now continually file PARs for opioids? We did it! We were successful in obtaining a finding that the claimant should be weaned off their opioid narcotics. In some cases, the treating...
Successfully arguing the influential case of Burns v. Varriale, 9 N.Y. 3d 207 (2007), has been the highlight of Melissa Day's career as an attorney. You can now watch a video of the oral argument from this case - click here to watch the video. The video does require a...
One of the greatest things the Board ever did for carriers was include a provision in the 2018 Workers’ Compensation Guidelines for Determining Impairment (“Guidelines”) that providers need to measure range of motion of unaffected contralateral limb and use that as a...
In a recent claim, we obtained surveillance of a claimant performing activities well outside of their doctor’s restrictions. From there, we obtained social media sweep-reports. Of note, the carrier’s obligation to disclose surveillance materials applies not just...
As everyone probably knows, Workers’ Compensation Law §21(4) presumes that a work-related accident isn’t only due to an employee’s intoxication on the job, unless there is substantial evidence to the contrary. Workers’ Compensation Law §10(1) similarly says that an...
The issue of apportionment is confusing. Many attorneys apply the wrong standard, the wrong timing, or both which can lead to a hodgepodge of contradicting decisions by Judge’s and also sometimes by the Board. One type of apportionment is “legal apportionment.” ...
There have been several cases recently where Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (“CTS”) was determined by providers as causally related to the accident of record in the file. At first, this determination of causal relationship seemed pretty straight forward, but a “deep dive”...
It’s well known in the Workers Compensation community that the threshold for meeting Prima Facie Medical Evidence (PFME) is extremely low. However, one argument that the Board has found to be quite compelling, is that “pain” is not an injury. There have been some past...
For the month of March 2025, we would like to highlight our one-and-only Neil A. Diegelman. Neil is a bright light at LOMAD, bringing an enthusiasm and charisma that lifts the spirits of our entire team. He provides our clients exceptional representation, offering...
By: Leonardo Lampret, Associate Attorney When a claimant suffers a work-related injury in New York but seeks treatment from an out-of-state provider, does New York’s Workers’ Compensation Fee Schedule govern the reimbursement rates? The Third Department addressed this...
Special Announcement Vicki L. Buehler Promoted to Senior Associate Attorney We are pleased to announce the promotion of Vicki L. Buehler from Associate Attorney to Senior Associate Attorney. Vicki joined The Law Offices of Melissa A. Day, PLLC in 2020 and has...
By: Leonardo Lampret, Associate Attorney Workers' Compensation Law § 14(5) acknowledges that younger workers typically earn lower wages than experienced adults in the same field. To address this, the statute allows for an adjustment to a claimant's average weekly wage...