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History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5754
Title of bill
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to personal injury or wrongful death actions
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to correct a recent court decision that for the first time granted preclusive effect to decisions of the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) relating to disability, potentially barring injured workers from seeking justice through the courts on the basis of an administrative decision of the WCB.
Summary of specific provisions
This bill adds a new paragraph (b) to section 11 of the Workers' Compensation Law that would bar a court or other forum from granting preclusive effect to decisions by the Workers' Compensation Board regarding cause of injury, degree of disability, lost earnings, need for future medical care and/or permanency of injury.
Justification
In the recent case of Auqui v. Seven Thirty One Limited Partnership, et al., 20 N.Y.3d 1035 (2013), the Court of Appeals for the first time allowed a decision on an injured worker's disability by the Workers' Compensation Board to bind a regular civil court in a related third-party action.
That decision will bar injured workers from seeking justice in the court system if the Workers' Compensation Board finds that they are no longer disabled.
The consequences of the Augui ruling for injured workers and the workers compensation system are far reaching. Injured workers will be forced to choose between maintaining their workers' compensation benefits and pursuing a third party claim in court. Those who receive benefits will risk being denied their constitutional right to a trial by jury because of the administrative decisions of the Workers' Compensation Board.
By preventing courts from granting preclusive effects to a limited category of decisions by the Workers' Compensation Board, this bill will ensure that a worker injured on the job will not lose. their constitutional right to seek justice through the courts because of an administrative hearing that lacks many of the elementary facets of due process.
Prior legislative history
None
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.