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FIREFIGHTER’S FALL EXITING AN AMBULANCE WAS AN ACCIDENT WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined the incident in which petitioner firefighter was injured constituted an accident within the meaning of the Retirement and Social Security Law:

Petitioner testified that he had entered and exited ambulances hundreds of times during the course of his career as a firefighter. He was familiar with the folding step located at the rear of the ambulance and indicated that it was usually down and in an open position so that people could safely get in and out of the ambulance. He explained that the step was designed to flip up temporarily when a stretcher was being loaded into the ambulance to keep the wheels from striking the step and then to flip back down. Petitioner stated that, when he entered the ambulance on the date in question, the stretcher had already been removed, so he assumed that the step was down when he went to exit. He indicated that, as he was exiting the ambulance, he placed his foot on the edge of the step, which was a color similar to the bumper, while it was flipped up and flush against the bumper. When he did so, it collapsed downward, causing him to fall to the ground.

Under these circumstances, the precipitating external event, i.e., the flipping down of the folding step, was sudden, unexpected and not a risk inherent in petitioner's ordinary job duties … . Likewise, petitioner's fall was not attributable to inattention or a mere misstep , but rather to an apparently malfunctioning piece of equipment that was designed, under normal circumstances, to promote safety … . Accordingly, respondent's denial of petitioner's application on the ground that the incident was not an accident within the meaning of the Retirement and Social Security Law is not supported by substantial evidence and must be annulled. Matter of Loia v DiNapoliI, 2018 NY Slip Op 05984, Third Dept 9-6-18

RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW (FIREFIGHTER'S FALL EXITING AN AMBULANCE WAS AN ACCIDENT WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW (THIRD DEPT))/FIREFIGHTERS (RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW, FIREFIGHTER'S FALL EXITING AN AMBULANCE WAS AN ACCIDENT WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW (THIRD DEPT))

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