Aggravation of Prior Injury Entitled Petitioner to Disability Benefits

Reversing the Comptroller, the Third Department determined that aggravation of a prior injury entitled petitioner to disability benefits:

This Court has repeatedly held that “‘when a preexisting dormant disease is aggravated by an accident, thereby causing a disability that did not previously exist, the accident is responsible for the ensuing disability'” ,,, . Here, although the Retirement System’s expert speculated that petitioner may have had some low level symptoms that he had learned to manage, there is no dispute that petitioner was not incapacitated prior to the February 2009 incident. The expert characterized the exacerbation of petitioner’s underlying conditions after that point as temporary, but could not explain why petitioner’s conceded disability had not resolved as of the date of the hearing, 3½ years after the accident. Under these circumstances, the Comptroller’s determination is not supported by substantial evidence and must be annulled … . Matter of Scannella v New York State Comptroller, 2014 NY Slip Op 05007, 3rd Dept 7-3-14