New York Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Turley, Redmond & Rosasco : Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Nassau, Suffolk, Bronx, Staten Island

There are literally thousands of former Nassau County workers who are currently receiving lifetime workers' compensation payments (pensions) for life due to on- the- job injuries.  I know - I have represented a large number of these unfortunate individuals.  These payments are overwhelmingly for workers who have been classified as having "permanent partial disabilities" and are destined to live the rest of their life in pain.

According to a Newsday article yesterday, Nassau County is now proposing a $55 million taxpayer funded bond to "sell" these claims to private insurers who would then try to convince the injured worker to settle the claim in a one-time "buy-out".   Is this good for the injured former Nassau workers?  For many of them, it is not a good deal at all unless they are paid "full value" for their settlement. It also may not be a good deal for the taxpayer. (See the excellent WorkersComp Insider post here) .

Our office recently negotiated a lump sum buy-out (often times called a Section 32 settlement) for a Nassau municipal worker for $650,000.00.  We thought this was a fair settlement given that the worker was going to lose both weekly non-taxable cash benefits and medical care for the rest of his life.  Unfortunately, you can bet that the insurance companies "bidding" for the Nassau County claims have no intention of paying fair settlement value to former Nassau employees.

The vast majority of lump sum buy-out offers are grossly unfair to the injured worker and are simply a device for insurance companies to dump claims and invest the excess profits.  The claimant needs a skilled NY workers compensation lawyer to negotiate a fair settlement. So what is amount fair?  First and foremost, for anyone who is likely to need major medical intervention in the near future, such as surgery, no amount of money may be the answer.  Remember, once the injured worker accepts the cash buy-out, he must pay for future medical care, including surgery, on his own.  Any settlement offer in a case like this would have to also "buy-out" the potential future cost of surgery, medications, physical therapy, etc.

Anyone considering a buy-out of a permanent partial disability claim should ask their workers compensation lawyer to do a "present value calculation" of what their future cash AND medical benefits are worth.  This present value calculation, which is the standard for settling long term disability claims, can be drastically impacted by current interest rates.  For instance, today I am using an interest rate tied to the ten year treasury bill rate (3.58% as of 4/08/08) to determine present value for the purposes of settling my cases.  When interest rates go back up, present value settlement offers will go down, so historically, now is a good time to get maximum value when deciding to settle a New York workers' compensation claim.   In addition, if you receive Social Security Disability in New York, you may need a Medicare Set-Aside agreement.

There are many present value calculators on the Internet which can help you determine a fair settlement proposal.  As my third grade math teacher instructed, I like to show my client's the "work", not just the answer, which I do on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.  Of course, settlement of any workers compensation claim is as much "art" as  arithmetic, but the math is always the starting point. 

It remains to be seen whether Nassau County dumps its old workers' compensation claims in the hands Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway to settle with permanently disabled workers.  If it does and you are an injured worker approached for a buy-out of your claim, ask a lot of questions of your Nassau workers compensation lawyer.  You don't want to leave any money on the table, and Warren Buffet has enough money. 

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ABC News published an important article today highlighting the sharp rise in immigrant worker deaths on construction sites in the New York City area.  This problem, which I addressed in a prior post recently, is reaching epidemic proportions. 

As detailed in the article, just the other day a Ukrainian immigrant was decapitated after plunging 42 stories while working on a construction site on a Donald Trump Hotel in lower Manhattan.  Under the current New York Workers' Compensation law, the most his widow and children can collect for his death is $500 per week, plus payment of only $6000 toward his funeral bill. 

I told the reporter the story of one of my clients (an undocumented worker) who was severely injured last November when a brick wall fell on him while working on a construction site in Queens.  Despite multiple surgeries and being an inpatient at Jamaica Hospital for over a week, he still has not received his first workers' compensation check.  This is not unusual in cases where unscrupulous employers are paying immigrant workers "off-the-books" and not reporting their wages to the workers' compensation insurance company to save on premiums.  Workers' compensation lawyers like myself see sad cases like these every day.

Thanks to Susan Donaldson James  and ABC News for reporting on this growing tragedy.  Unfortunately, in the current political climate, it is questionable whether the federal government has any desire to address the safety of undocumented workers on construction sites??? 

 

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Happy New Year to all the readers of the New York Disability Law Blog!  Over the course of 2007, we are pleased to report that our firm has once again helped thousands of injured and disabled claimants successfully win the benefits they deserve.

Our blog has  tried to provide timely and helpful information to all those struggling with a variety of disability claims, including long term disability insurance claims, Social Security disability claims,  workers' compensation claims and VA disability claims.  Since its inception in March 2005, our blog's readership has steadily grown and we have become a frequent resource to reporters and other media professionals on disability claim matters. 

We look forward to another year of fighting the good fight for our clients and friends. We wish you and your families a healthy and happy 2008!

 

 

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"This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy..."  - Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843).

At this festive time of year, when so many of us have more worldly goods than we truly need, let us not forget those among us who are not working due to accidents or disease.  The attorneys at Turley, Redmond & Rosasco have dedicated our professional lives to to lifting up and providing for injured and disabled claimants with ERISA and private long term disability claims, Social Security disability claims and workers' compensation claims.  May the year 2008 bring happier and healthier days to the clients we serve.  Merry Christmas!

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As detailed in Newsday today, Mitchell Breit of the national class action law firm of Whatley, Drake & Kallas and the disability law firm of Turley, Redmond & Rosasco have filed a "medical monitoring" class action lawsuit  against Verizon in New York Supreme Court, County of Brooklyn, for workers who previously worked at the former Sylvania nuclear fuel rod plant in Hicksville, Long Island.  Verizon previously settled a lawsuit by surrounding residents for a reported 11 million dollars due to an increased rate of cancer in the area.  

The lawsuit follows a recent decision by the New York State Workers' Compensation Board which found that a worker on the site, Gerard DePascale, developed a rare and deadly cancer (extra-skeletal myxiod chondrosarcoma) as a result of exposure to toxins on the site.  In addition, a recently released Army Corp of Engineers report found danger to the public by this still contaminated site.  Despite special federal funding won by Senator Chuck Schumer for a complete clean-up of the site, legal wrangling between Verizon, the Army Corp and the New York State Department of Environmental Protection have put a stop to the clean-up.  How many more people have to come down with cancer before Verizon does the right thing?

The lawsuit seeks to force Verizon to set up a "medical monitoring" fund so that the thousands of workers who were unknowingly exposed to the toxins  on the site can benefit from early diagnosis and treatment of any potential medical problems.  As detailed in the Newsday story today, workers like Robert Matteo are mad that they were never told of the dangers on their work site.

Unfortunately, Gerard DePascale, whose cancer has now spread to his lungs, is still waiting a final ruling from the New York State Workers Compensation Board.  Despite winning his case in front of trial judge Abigail Chanis in March 2007, his employer appealed the judge's decision.  He has now been out of work with no workers' compensation benefits since January 2006!  The abnormally long delay in deciding this appeal is causing the DePascale family severe financial hardship.  Thankfully, with new leadership at the Workers' Compensation Board, a decision in Mr. DePascale's case hopefully will be expedited.   

 

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Turley, Redmond & Rosasco founding partner William "Bill" Turley was endorsed today by Newsday as Smithtown's next representative in the Suffolk County Legislature.  Bill, who has been practicing workers' compensation and disability claim law on Long Island for over 20 years, impressed the Newsday staff with his innovative ideas on clean energy and immigration. 

• 13TH DISTRICT
  
  North Smithtown, part of Huntington
  
  Republican Lynn Nowick, 60, of St. James, is running for a fourth term. Her assiduous constituent services assure her popularity. But she has few constructive new ideas, especially regarding the 800-pound gorilla in her district: the fate of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center.
  
  On this vexing issue, her Democratic opponent, William Turley, 49, of Fort Salonga, agrees that the legislature has little influence beyond rhetorical support of a better proposal for the complex's use. But Turley, an attorney specializing in workers' compensation, brings a refreshing and progressive perspective that differs sharply with Nowick's in every other respect. He favors hiring halls for migrant workers, wants stricter penalties for sex offenders but is concerned about the constitutionality of residential restrictions, and would push for alternative energy policies in the county to offset dependence on foreign oil. We endorse Turley.
  

For many disabled clients on Long Island and New York City, Bill has been a steady hand guiding them through the disability claim maze.  Good luck Bill on November 6th!

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Being a construction worker in New York City is becoming more deadly, according to new reports from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Amid a building boom in New York, construction worker accident related deaths are up 87% since 2005. 

As the NY Times reported earlier this year on construction deaths, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already taken some positive health and safety inspection measures to stem work related scaffold and ladder accidents in New York City.  However, it appears that part of the problem involves the intractable immigration crisis. 

Many shady construction general contractors and sub-contractors are hiring non-union undocumented workers who are not given adequate safety training or equipment.  As can be expected, the death toll is falling disproportionately on Latino construction workers.  This is because the percentage of Latin and Mexican construction workers are growing by leaps and bounds.  In addition, immigrants from India, Poland and other Eastern European countries are increasing on non-union (i.e., less safe) work sites. 

The workers' compensation lawyers at Turley, Redmond & Rosasco have unfortunately witnessed the impact of construction accident deaths on families first hand.  Hopefully, the issue of immigrant construction worker safety in NYC will be studied by the newly confirmed Chair of the NY Workers' Compensation Board, Zachary S Weiss.  As Governor Spitzer so correctly notes, we cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend these immigrant workers do not exist.  These are real human beings who are dying almost every day, sometimes due to employer greed trying to avoid paying union wages.  Let us not build our gleaming New York City skyline on a foundation of blood.

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   Marie Cocco of the Washington Post has a great column today profiling one of our clients, Jeanmarie DeBiase, the widow of 9/11 hero Mark DeBiase.  While sick police officers and firefighters have received much deserved attention, workers in a variety of occupations, without whom the Ground Zero clean-up could not have been possible, have not received the same level of press.  Mark was a wireless phone technician who set up emergency communications for other 9/11 rescue and first responders and volunteers.  He died on April 9, 2006 due to interstitial lung disease caused by exposure to dust and toxins at the Fresh Kills landfill, where the World Trade Center debris was trucked.  

More importantly, they have not received the same level of medical and monetary support as the police and firefighters.  Many have lost their health insurance for both themselves and their families. Many ill workers continue to struggle as they fight workers' compensation claims being vigorously fought by employers who have forgotten the meaning of the word "compassion".  On this sixth anniversary of the collapse of the Twin Towers, may we all re-dedicate ourselves to helping families who cannot "move on" from September 11, 2001. 

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A Newsday article today details yet another lawsuit against Verizon for cancers and other life threatening diseases caused by Verizon's contaminated nuclear waste property in Hicksville, New York.  It was just a few years ago that Verizon paid out a multi-million dollar settlement to residents in the surrounding area over their increased rates of cancer.  Incredibly, despite their previous settlement with surrounding residents, they state in today's article that the property is not a health hazard!!!  They must be kidding!!!  Thankfully, at least the newest lawsuit is in front of federal District Court Judge Leonard Wexler, a no nonsense jurist who presided over the previous settlement.  Judge Wexler knows where the skeletons were buried by Verizon.

Perhaps Verizon should review the most recent United States Army Corp of Engineers report  before issuing such silly press releases.  Perhaps they should tell this to Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Pete King who both have pledged recently to aid in the cleanup. Perhaps they should tell this to the New York Workers' Compensation Board which has already ruled favorably for two workers on the Verizon site.  By denying the obvious, Verizon is besmirching its once good name and entering the "ENRON" class of corporate responsibility.

Does Verizon have no shame? What about Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg? How many more victims have to contract cancer due to Verizon's contaminated nuclear property before they accept responsibility for the nuclear and other toxins on the Hicksville site?  Perhaps they have made a cold calculated business decision that its cheaper to pay off a few hundred cancer victims than it is to clean up there own property.   Anyone ever heard of the Ford Pinto cases?  Whatever Verizon's motivations, you can be sure they have more to do with shareholder returns than the health of Long Islanders.

However, assuming Verizon is first and foremost profit motivated, wouldn't it make good financial sense to be a good neighbor as they roll out their FIOS service across Long Island? After all, who would want to buy anything from a known corporate polluter?  Step up and do the right thing - perhaps you will be embraced by residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties looking for an alternative to Cablevision.  Fight to the death (literally) like Magazine Distributors, and I can't think of one New York resident who would want to sign up for FIOS service  (check out how healthy the workers in the FIOS video look...) if they knew their monthly bills went to fight cancer victims.  

Much like Ground Zero workers, the men and women who worked directly on top of this acknowledged nuclear waste site will be getting sick for years to come.  The time has come for Verizon and Ivan Seidenberg to "do the right thing".  Don't count your chickens just yet.  Verizon even fights its own workers' 9/11 related cancer claims!  Anyone have Michael Moore's phone number? Those are my thoughts - what do you think?

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To all workers who toil each day to make America great, the the attorneys and staff at Turley, Redmond & Rosasco wish you a much deserved and restful Labor Day.  Enjoy!  See you next week.

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As we approach the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, legal and health issues arising out of Ground Zero continue to top the headlines.  First, NYCOSH has announced a press conference for next Tuesday, 9/4/07,  at 11:00 am at the South entrance to PATH trains at the former World Trade Center site on Church Street.  The press conference, which will include New York State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith, Art Wilcox of the AFL-CIO and representatives of Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno,  will announce a new subway poster campaign encouraging 9/11 Rescue, Recovery and Cleanup Workers and Volunteers to register for benefits with the New York Workers' Compensation Board.  We will report any additional information after the press conference.

As previously reported on the New York Workers' Compensation Alliance website, the deadline to register for these benefits has been extended until August 14, 2008.  You  can download a World Trade Center Registration Form here. In addition, this week saw an important Newsday article reporting about a new New York City Department of Health study showing that Ground Zero rescue and recovery workers have a 12 times higher incidence of asthma.  This bolsters the anecdotal evidence and filing of claims by our workers' compensation attorneys for WTC workers over the past few years.  

Our workers' compensation lawyers continue to work daily with Ground Zero rescue, recovery and cleanup workers and volunteers to protect their rights to future medical attention.  The new poster campaign will help those who have not yet registered.   Remember- you should register now even if you are still healthy to protect your rights later.  If you have any questions, call toll free 1-877-NY-DBLAW to speak to one of our attorneys for a free consultation.

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Does or job affect your sleep patterns?  Can you collect New York Workers' Compensation benefits if it does? That's the question Daisy Harrington asked me in her Career Corner column in AM New York published today. 

There is growing evidence that workers may suffer adverse health effects, especially  work related heart attacks, due to long or unusual working hours,.  Workers who are "on call" constantly might have similar problems.  However, to date making such claims at the New York Workers' Compensation Board  has not been particularly fruitful in our experience.   As in every workers' comp claim, you must have a medical doctor support you claim in writing.  This is often easier said than done. 

Despite the potential hurdles, every case has different facts and you would be well advised to consult an experienced Workman's compensation attorney if you believe your job has impacted your sleep and harmed yor health.

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Congratulations to Turley, Redmond & Rosasco, LLP founder William J. Turley on being nominated last night as the Democratic candidate for the Suffolk County Legislature's 13th District, as detailed in today's Newsday. 

Besides being one of Long Island's leading workers' compensation lawyers, Bill will be an excellent county legislator come this November.  Bill was recently the sole honoree of the New York Workers' Compensation Bar at a fundraiser for "One in Nine", the breast cancer advocacy group.  Needless to say, everyone at our firm is extremely proud of Bill's past and future accomplishments.  Go Bill!

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Last week, the New York Daily News published a sad article about disability benefits and our client's 3 1/2 year struggle to obtain the Social Security Disability benefits she deserved entitled "Filing for Disability, but Finding Discouragement".   As detailed in the article, our client was mentally retarded and could not read or write. 

In mid-2003, she applied for Social Security Disability benefits.  Unbelievably, her claim was denied about 6 months later.  Our office filed an appeal called a "Request for a Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge" in the Queens Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.  Our client eventually appeared for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge after waiting an additional 12 months.  At the hearing, the law judge called a special Social Security medical expert to testify.  The medical expert testified that our client was disabled under Social Security regulations.  End of story - right? No!

Despite  the testimony of his own medical expert saying our mentally retarded client was disabled, the judge again denied the claim in a poorly written decision a few months later.  This particular judge is known for horrible decisions. We then immediately appealed our client's case to the Social Security Appeals Council (a panel of reviewing judges) in Falls Church, Virginia.  Finally, in January 2007 the Appeals Council  fully reversed the original judge's decision and granted our client disability benefits, some 3 1/2 years after her initial application. 

As the claimant's mother said in the article, "when we needed the system, it wasn't there for us".  When the mentally retarded need retain disability attorneys to get the Social Security Disability benefits they deserve, you can only imagine the challenge the rest of you might have, especially in the New York City area.   

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Once again, Mark Harrington of Newsday continues to do a superb job of  uncovering previously unreleased documents about the dangers still lurking in the soil and air surrounding the former Hicksville Sylvania nuclear fuel rod fabricating plant, now owned by Verizon.  Yesterday, he published the fourth article in an ongoing series about the Hicksville nuclear site and its impact on thousands of workers. Harrington details the most recent March 2007 Army Corps of Engineers report about the proposed future cleanup of this "dirty" site contaminated with both radiological waste and chemicals such as TCE and PCE. Updating the health of my client, the article goes on:

Troy Rosasco, DePascale's Hauppauge-based attorney, said his client is preparing for surgery on May 17 to remove a tumor even as he recovers from the removal last month of half of the other lung. At the same time, he said, continued testing raises questions about assurances that the site was completely safe.  "It tells me that the State Department of Health...is operating fast and loose with data the US Army Corps says is missing" Rosasco said.

Despite winning his case after a trial over two months ago, Gerard DePascale is still without any workers' compensation payments due to the frivolous appeal filed by his employer, Hudson News Group.   All the while, every day another present or former employee who worked at this toxic "glow in the dark" work site calls my office to get on the list of potential future plaintiffs in a future major litigation to provide medical monitoring for all those exposed.  Even if you are currently healthy, you may be entitled to future medical monitoring.  If you are currently sick, you may have additional legal remedies.  If you would like your name placed on the contact list for any future litigation or discuss any other potential claim, please call Troy Rosasco at 631-582-3700, ext. 123.

 

 

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US Senator Charles Schumer announced in a Newsday article yesterday that treatment, medical monitoring and potential compensation are on the way for potentially thousands of workers who formerly worked atop the nuclear waste site owned by Verizon in Hicksville, New York.  In addition to announcing the new benefits for workers, a frustrated but determined Senator Charles Schumer stated that "I will hold the Army Corps' of Engineers feet to the fire" and "the site should have been cleaned up yesterday", referring to his previous efforts in 2004 to achieve a full cleanup.   

Shocked that their efforts in 2004 to secure a federal cleanup of the Hicksville, Long Island,  New York nuclear waste site have not been completed to date, both Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Pete King vowed to to cut through the bureaucracy and finger pointing.  Both Schumer and King were reacting to a letter request for intervention from Troy Rosasco, the attorney for Gerard Depascale, who the New York Workers' Compensation Board recently found contracted a rare cancer while working for the Hudson News Group on this site and was awarded lifetime workers' compensation and medical benefits.  In a previous Newsday artcle on Mr. Depascale, Mr. Rosasco compared the illnesses facing the Hicksville workers as similar to the ilnesses facing 9/11 workers who were exposed at Ground Zero.   "Over the course of the next 10-20 years, I believe we are going to see more cases of cancer and other illnesses related to radiation at this site", said Rosasco.

This new aid promised by Senator Schumer will be especially welcome to those workers who were exposed to ionizing radiation  and other toxins on the site and are now in fear of getting sick in the future.  In addition, the Army Corp of Engineers promised to return to the site this May for more investigation.    Turley, Redmond & Rosasco, LLP is compiling a list of  workers who ever worked on this site and may have been exposed to radiation and other chemicals.  Please call Troy Rosasco, Esq. at 631-582-3700, ext. 123 if you worked at this site and would like to be on the list for possible testing, treatment and/or compensation.   We will keep you posted on further developments. 

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That's what Adreinne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens' Campaign for the Environment, called the growing controversy regarding Verizon's radiation contaminated property located in Hicksville, New York  in a recent News 12 Long Island television report on the former Sylvania Nuclear Products facility.  See the full video here.

After Newsday's first story broke about our client's cancer related to his work at this site for Magazine Distributors, Inc.,  a division of Hudson News, in an article few weeks weeks ago, the unanswered questions regarding the dangers at this toxic site are rapidly expanding.  Newsday later followed up a week later with another story unearthing a previously unreleased Army Corp of Engineers report dated November 2005 showing worse contamination than previously thought. 

Why did the federal Army Corp of Engineers sit on the Hicksville Sylvania Nuclear Waste Site report for almost two years and release it only to Verizon ( a defendant in a billion dollar lawsuit brought by local residents alleging increased cancer risks) and the New York DEC?  Way back in 2004, New York Senator Chuck Schumer and US Representative Peter King announced, "It's the federal government that created this mess, it's the federal government that should fix it".  Did they "fix" this radioactive site located smack in the middle of Long Island suburbia, or did  powerful corporate and governmental interests  try to sweep this one under the rug. 

According to Ms. Esposito of Citizens' Campaign for the Environment, " Instead of being honest with the public, they covered it up.  That is negligence on the part of the federal government and that's a conspiracy to keep the public in the dark". 

One thing we know is that Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Pete King are scrappy fighters determined to protect the health and welfare of both Hicksville residents and all Long Island workers who worked at the employers located on the Verizon property.  The New York State Workers' Compensation Board already ruled that our client contracted a rare and deadly cancer, extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma,  while working on this site for a tenant of Verizon.  As George Johnson, a neighbor of the site for seven years, so appropriately said in the News 12 video, "How many people have to die before something happens, before we do the right thing". 

Let's hope Senator Schumer and Congressman King can get the Army Corp of Engineers and Verizon to do the right thing and clean up this site  with all deliberate speed.  

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Yesterday's Newsday had a disturbing article regarding the radiation related health risks to workers who worked on or around the Hicksville, Long Island, Sylvania Nuclear Waste Site ,now owned by Verizon.  Our office recently won a workers' compensation claim for a worker who contracted a rare cancer, extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma, due to ionizing radiation and other toxins while working on this site for Magazine Distributors, Inc.,  a division of Hudson News.  If I were a worker at this site or knew someone who worked near there, I would read this article carefully.

This nuclear waste site, located at 70,100 and 140 Cantiague Rock Road, Hicksville, NY was operated by Sylvania between 1952 and 1967 and was licensed by the US Atomic Energy Commission to manufacture nuclear fuel rods for use during the Cold War.  The radioactive elements uranium-235 and thorium were processed and milled at the facility.  The uranium and thorium were then subject to machining, grinding and incineration.  The facility then burned sludge to reclaim more uranium.

In addition, the Sylvania plant, although unauthorized to do so, burned scrap uranium as a three shift, seven day a week operation until 1960.  Large 55 gallon drums of uranium scrap metal were burned on site.  During the ongoing site clean-up, 55 gallon drums have been found buried at the site.  In addition to the radioactive substances, the site is contaminated with tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene and nickel.  Someone described the site as the location of a "dirty bomb".

Verizon, the current owner of the site, set aside $240 million for the ongoing clean-up which is now being monitored by both the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corp of Engineers.  Recent documents obtained by our lawyers during the litigation indicate that there may be more contamination than originally thought below the 100 building, the former location of Magazine Distributors, Inc.  

On November 9, 2006, the Hicksville Water District warned residents of of higher than allowed concentrations of tetrachloroethylene (a toxin found on the site)  in the drinking water from one of their supply wells and the potential cancer risks it might cause.  The well was immediately taken out of service.

Currently, neither the Army Corp of Engineers nor the New York State DEC nor Verizon are releasing statements about the what is currently being found on this dangerous site.  Thousands of pounds of contaminated soil have been carefully transported to Envirocare in Utah.  In 2004,  New York Senator Schumer  stated that "it's the federal government that created this mess, it should be the federal government that fixes it".  To date, the public doesn't know the current status of the site and when or if it will be properly cleaned up.  In the meantime, more workers and local residents are getting gravely ill.  Perhaps it's time for Senator Schumer to get to the bottom of this quagmire and let the public know the current health risks on the site.

As reported in Newsday, the lawsuit brought by local residents against the property owner, Verizon, for their increased cancer risk was recently settled for approximately $11 million.  The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is currently prosecuting  lawsuits arising from this site in federal court in Central Islip.  As stated in the Newsday article, this toxic waste dump could have impacts like those facing 9/11  rescue workers.  Workers on this site, which also included the companies Air Techniques and Gilbert Displays, could be facing cancer and other health problems for years to come.   Scary stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

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Read carefully the letter released today simultaneously with Governor Eliot Spitzer's signing of the new Workers' Compensation Reform bill into law.  You can also listen to the audio file of his remarks today. The strong and resolute language in this letter portends future administrative changes which could impact the New York Workers' Compensation Board as much, if not more , than the new statutory changes. 

It is clear that much will depend upon the individuals selected to sit on the newly created task forces and the Governor's choice of a new Workers' Compensation Board Chairperson.  Both sets of announcements are expected shortly. 

Bottom Line - these appointments will send some clear messages about Governor  Spitzer's future plans to improve the current New York State Workers' Compensation system.   

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I was interviewed the other day by WorkersComp Central, a national on-line newspaper dedicated to workers' compensation issues, on the impact of the new Spitzer New York Workers' Comp Reform Bill.  This bill passed both the Senate and the Assembly unanimously yesterday and is expected to be signed by Governor Spitzer next Tuesday.  The new law takes effect July 1, 2007,  and the changes are transformative - to say the least.  For attorneys who have practiced law in this administrative and technical forum many years, the changes will test our ability to adapt to radically new benefit structure.  It should be interesting!  

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Over the past few months, you may have noticed a precipitous drop in the number of posts to the New York Disability Lawyer Blog.   However, as Co-Chair of the New York Workers' Compensation Alliance,  I've been doing the Albany shuffle along with some of my dedicated colleagues in an attempt to protect injured workers from any disastrous workers' comp reform.  Well - were in the ninth inning now given Governor Spitzer's press conference today announcing a workers' compensation reform agreement between all the major players at the bargaining table.  It's been a long but hopefully worthwhile fight.

Give New York Governor Eliot Spitzer credit - he played his cards in the workers' compensation reform deal brilliantly and in the process has undone one of the pillars of the original law that was on the books for nearly 100 years - the permanent partial disability pension.  That's not to say that this pillar was not crumbling of it's own weight and didn't need some reforming. After all, it had been around since the assassination of Prince Archduke Francis Ferdinand!  But like a historic neighborhood that is indelibly disturbed by the need for a three lane highway, it was rather sad to watch, especially for those of us who are a bit nostalgic when it comes to labor history.  The price of progress!

So, who are the winners and losers in the new reform deal? Aside from the obvious political winners -Governor Spitzer, Assembly Speaker Silver and  Senate Majority Leader Bruno- who all seemed to be playing nicely in the rose garden, the winners are as follows:

• Injured workers earning over $600 per week, who will now see an immediate potential benefit increase;
• Injured workers who will have greater access to real job retraining and rehabilitation;
• Injured workers whose authorization for appropriate medical care will be sped up;
• Injured workers whose claims will be resolved quicker due to the implementation of the new "Rocket Docket" proposed by the Workers' Compensation Alliance;
• Employers who should see a 10-15% decrease in workers' comp premiums;
• Honest employers who will no longer subsidize cheating employers due to new criminal employer fraud penalties;
• Doctors who often waited months for authorization for much needed surgeries for their patients.

Now, as in any hard fought compromise,the inevitable losers:

• Injured workers with permanent partial disabilities who cannot be rehabilitated for other work (i.e. the 58 year old carpenter with no high school degree, among others);
• Injured workers earning less than $600 per week;
• Dishonest employers who will now face felony criminal charges;
• The New York Compensation Rating Board, which will be abolished;
• The "Second Injury Fund", which will be phased out of existence;
• Any others that we discover once the actual written bill details are released.

Teddy Roosevelt - excuse me...Eliot Spitzer! - chocks up one more win on the scorched earth reform path.

 

 

 

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It was my pleasure to give a seminar recently to volunteer firefighters at the Bellmore Fire District on Long Island about their rights to workers' compensation (even as volunteers) under the new 9/11 Rescue Workers' Law.   Andrew Carboy and Beth Jablon of Sullivan, Papain, Block, McGrath & Cannavo also gave an excellent presentation on the rights of the volunteer firefighters to sue the City of New York if they worked at Ground Zero and later develop cancer or breathing problems.  For instance, I met one firefighter who developed tongue cancer after working at Ground Zero but had never touched a cigarette in his life.  Unfortunately, such stories are becoming more and more common these days as I field these unfortunate callers on almost a daily basis.

The firehouse was packed and we handed out many Workers' Compensation Ground Zero registration forms and many firefighters completed the forms right then and there.  I thank both Andy Carboy and Joe Pusateri, Esq. for asking me to assist with this presentation.   As of today,  there are only 189 days left to register with the Workers' Compensation Board.  Even if you are not ill now, please download this form today and send it to the New York Workers' Compensation Board ASAP.  It could be a free disability or life insurance policy for your family.   If you have questions about how to fill out  the form, do not hesitate to call our office at 1-877-NY-DBLAW.  

 

 

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Welcome to the newly designed New York Disability Law Blog!  As you will notice, I changed the official title of the blog from "The Disabled Worker Law Blog" to the  more informational "New York Disability Law Blog".  This is in keeping with the blog's purpose of providing useful information and insight regarding disability claims to fellow attorneys and the general public. 

To this end, I am excited to announce the creation of the blog's "Disability Law Library" which will be continually added to and updated.  I hope that this will eventually become the first place attorneys and claimant's turn to when researching disability claims and legal issues.  Still in it's formative stages, the library will have sections on long term disability and ERISA claims, Social Security  disability, New York workers' compensation, civil service disability pensions, scaffold /ladder /construction site lawsuits and a new section on the unfortunate expanding area of veterans' disability claims.

In addition, in 2007 we hope to do a better job collaborating with fellow bloggers such as Jonathan Ginsberg and his excellent Social Security Disability Radio Blog.  Please feel free to comment about the new design and let me know how the New York Disability Law Blog can better serve your needs.  Talk to you soon.

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Well, my seven year old son didn't get  "an official Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot, range-model air rifle with a compass in the stock" this Christmas, but he now has enough "weapons of mass destruction"  to justify Dick Cheney's armed search of our property (I better duck!)   My daughter is content with her yo-yo and Rubik's Cube.  Chock it up to testosterone!

All of us at the New York Disability Lawyer Blog and Turley, Redmond & Rosasco wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and Holiday Season!  See you in the New Year!

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As Co-Chair of the New York Workers' Compensation Alliance, I was interviewed for an article published Monday at the  Workers' Comp Central web site on the upcoming workers' compensation reform debate in Albany under the new Spitzer administration. 

Short Version - severely injured workers are going to have to fight hard to protect their rights to lifetime workers' comp benefits when they have permanent partial disabilities and are no longer employable.  With the help of the New York State Business Council and the ever present insurance lobby, the debate  is trying to be shifted from protecting workers with horrendous injuries to re-invigorating the dormant upstate economy.  While we all support bringing more jobs back to upstate New York, there are no independent credible studies linking increased workers' compensation costs to a decline in the upstate economy.  If workers' comp costs were such a drain on business, why hasn't it had a similar impact on the downstate economy? 

Workers' comp costs declined after the 1996 reforms under Governor Pataki.  Did this jump start the upstate economy?  Workers' compensation seems to be the easy whipping boy by some for all of upstate's economic woes.  Sure - take it out ion the lady with no hand after it was caught in a machine at work.   Thankfully, Governor-Elect Spitzer has surrounded himself with some of the sharpest policy advisors in New York.  I have no doubt they will be able to think "outside the box" and find solutions to the upstate economic problems without hurting permanently disabled workers.

The entire article is below:

New York -- Spitzer Expected to Make Sweeping Changes in NY Comp: Top [12/11/06]

An alliance of New York attorneys and other advocates representing 200,000 injured workers called for sweeping reforms in the state's workers' compensation system Friday and said it has high hopes for Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer.

"We think he's going to take a hard look at insurance companies before he proposes any major change in workers' compensation," said Troy Rosasco, who co-chairs the New York State Workers' Compensation Alliance.

"There are already meetings going on, and the time will be sooner rather than later," Rosasco said. "I would think we would have substantial workers' comp reform of some sort or another within the first six months of the Spitzer administration."

Spitzer's transition team did not respond to a request for an interview Friday. And the veteran state attorney general is keeping his own plans for workers' compensation reform close to his vest.

He has told participants in a series of meetings intended to forge a compromise among employers, claimants' attorneys and the unions that they won't get a preview of his plans until his inauguration next month.

But Spitzer gained national attention with a string of major settlements with insurers over allegations of accounting irregularities and the payment of illegal contingent fees to secure business.

Most notably, Spitzer signed a record-setting $1.65 billion settlement with American International Group in February, after he accused the insurance giant of cooking its books to smooth out quarterly financial earnings reports.

That surpassed his $850 million agreement with Marsh & McLennan over its use of continent commissions paid to brokers.

And the AIG case led to the ouster of former company CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg and his chief financial officer, Howard Smith, as well as a string of ongoing civil and criminal cases.

"He's a good sheriff of the industry," Rosasco said.

With the New York State Assembly set to return to Albany in January, Spitzer has promised to call a summit meeting of shareholders in workers' compensation.

Reforming the system was a major part of his campaign, along with rescuing the beleaguered economy of upstate New York.

The state of the economy has pitted the alliance against the Business Council of New York State and its affiliate, New York Workers' Compensation Action Network (NYCAN).

NYCAN has called on Spitzer to impose the state's first cap on permanent partial disability, saying the PPDs account for 15% of the state's workers' compensation cases and 75% of the expenditures.

The alliance is opposing the caps and pushing hard to raise the maximum weekly benefit for injured workers, which has been capped at $400 since 1992.

On Friday, the alliance called for increasing the maximum benefit to two-thirds of the state average weekly wage. Suggesting a phased-in payment schedule, the alliance also is seeking to raise the minimum weekly rate from $40 to $120.

The alliance wants to raise the benefit amount under the state's Disability Benefits Law to one-half the claimant's average weekly wage without a maximum limit. And it wants Spitzer and lawmakers to require the state Workers' Compensation Board to set a future revaluation date for workers with PPDs, at which time the worker would have to demonstrate an attempt to reenter the labor market.

The proposals released Friday would increase the dollar limit for required pre-approval of medical services from $500 to $1,200 and require private carriers to pay for medical care while workers' compensation claims are pending.

Finally, the proposals would abolish the Compensation Insurance Rating Board and transfer the job of ratemaking classification to state government.

"The biggest issue and the biggest stumbling block we will face in the upcoming negotiations is how injured workers with permanent partial disabilities are treated," Rosasco said. "If he (Spitzer) were to implement a cap, those who remain out of work will become wards of the state welfare system."

Citing upstate New York's depressed economy, NYCAN said in is recently call for action from Spitzer that brokering a compromise on workers' compensation is "the best way to send a signal that he will boost upstate's fortunes."

NYCAN warned that New York has the second-highest average workers' compensation claims in the nation despite the fact that its maximum weekly benefit hasn't changed in more than a decade.

The group said employers' costs are 15% above the national average. Average claims are more than $16,000, up from $11,793 two years ago.

The group called for limiting PPD awards to 10 years.

Current Gov. George Pataki proposed reforms a year ago and said he would slash employers' costs by more than 15% while boosting benefits by 25% for injured workers.

But Pataki's package ended in a legislative gridlock during the 2006 session. Rosasco said he expects Spitzer to fare better, if workers' advocates succeed in severing the issue from the economic fortunes of upstate New York.

"There is no evidence that says the upstate economy has been hurt by workers' compensation costs," Rosasco said. "Frankly, they have not been able to attract business after a large part of the manufacturing base left for Southeast Asia."

--By Michael Whiteley, WorkCompCentral Southeast Bureau Chief
mike@workcompcentral.com

 

 

 

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Not another workers' compensation attorney seminar?  That's what my understanding partners are asking!  Yes - but when the prestigious New York State Bar Association asks you to participate in one of their excellent and well attended continuing legal education courses, it really is an honor one cannot refuse.

This one takes place this Tuesday, November 21st, at the Huntington Hilton on Long Island and will be a Practical Skills day long session entitled "Basic Workers' Compensation Law Practice".  Our local Seminar Chair is my good friend and colleague, Doug Hayden, Esq., former Chief Legal Officer and Acting CEO of the New York State Insurance Fund, and now a Vice President with Wright Risk Management.  Doug has asked me to speak on "Compensation from the Claimant's Perspective" and "Issues of the Day", including Section 32 Settlements and Medicare Set Aside agreements.  Although labeled "basic", this course would be a great refresher for even experienced disability lawyers, even those specializing in Social Security Disability or ERISA Long Term Disability claims.  It should be an instructive day.  Hope to see you there.

Thanks to my colleague Bill Crossett from the NYSBA Torts, Insurance and Compensation Section for asking me to speak.  Finally, Happy Thanksgiving to all readers of the Disabled Worker Law Blog. 

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On Monday, November 13th, I will be lecturing at the Suffolk County Bar Association's Plaintiff's Personal Injury Committee on the always confusing subject of Workers' Compensation Law Sec. 29, liens, consent and Kelly calculations.  The Kelly calculation formula derives from the seminal New York Court of Appeals decision in Kelly v. State Insurance Fund, 60 NY2d 131 (1983).  The Kelly case said that  the workers' compensation carrier must pay it's equitable share of the claimant's litigation costs based upon their "total benefit" from the claimant's recovery.  This "total benefit" includes both the amount of the lien they recoup and the present value of future workers' comp benefits they will not have to pay (credit/offset rights) due to the claimant's recovery.  We will be handing out a Kelly Calculation Worksheets that personal injury lawyers can use and will practice on several hypothetical cases.  Bring your calculators! 

In addition, we will discuss the impact of the recent Appellate Division case of Burns v. Varriale, 2006 Slip Op. 6346 (3d Dept.) which states that Kelly may not apply in some permanent partial disability cases