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PETITIONER POLICE OFFICER WAS AWARE OF THE DEFECT IN THE FLOOR WHICH CAUSED HIS CHAIR TO START TO TIP OVER BACKWARDS WHEN THE WHEELS CAUGHT IN THE DEFECT; THEREFORE THE INCIDENT WAS NOT UNEXPECTED AND PETITIONER WAS NOT ENTITLED TO ACCIDENTAL DISABILITY RETIREMENT BENEFITS (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Pritzker, over a dissent, determined petitioner police officer was not entitled to accidental disability benefits for injuries incurred at his desk when he prevented himself from falling over backwards in his chair. When he attempted to roll the chair backwards it caught in a rut and petitioner was injured when he grabbed at a desk to keep from tipping over backwards:

Petitioner acknowledged that he was aware that the flooring at the front desk was in poor condition and that, both on previous occasions and prior to the incident that day, he had observed that there were two ruts in the flooring right behind the desk. Petitioner also testified that, in his estimation, the ruts were “three inches across, maybe a little more.” His testimony also demonstrates that he was aware that the chair he was utilizing that day had wheels and that, when sitting at the desk, those wheels would be in the “general area” of the holes. Given this testimony and the photographs of the floor that were admitted, respondent’s finding that petitioner could have reasonably anticipated the hazard — i.e., that the small wheels catching a depression in the floor would cause the chair to tip — was reasonable and supported by substantial evidence, despite other reasonable interpretations. Therefore, the finding that the precipitating event was not unexpected and did not constitute an accident within the meaning of the Retirement and Social Security Law will not be disturbed … . Matter of Bodenmiller v DiNapoli, 2023 NY Slip Op 01930, Third Dept 4-13-23

Practice Point: To constitute an accident under the Retirement and Social Security Law, the incident must be “unexpected.” Here petitioner was aware of the floor-defect which cause his chair to start tipping over backwards when the wheels caught in the defect. Therefore the incident was not “unexpected” within the meaning of the applicable law.

 

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