NY Court Tosses Bid for Firefighter Injuries

New York’s Court of Appeals ruled April 10 that the city of Newburgh can’t recover overpaid disability supplements from a retired firefighter’s workers’ compensation benefits.
The ruling in Matter of Schulze v. City of Newburgh Fire Department affirms the limits of employer reimbursement rights under the state’s workers’ compensation and municipal disability laws.
Adam Schulze, a retired firefighter from the City of Newburgh, was injured on the job in 2012 and classified as permanently partially disabled in 2015. He received full salary payments from the city law and workers’ compensation law, totaling about $106,000.
The ruling confirms that reimbursement rights are strictly limited to statutorily authorized categories, a matter of likely interest to municipal liability and public sector insurers.
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The Ft. Worth, Texas police department’s assessment of the BlackStone network of worker’s compensation medical service providers surfaced department concerns about local clinic Southwest Sports & Spine, according to the Dallas Express.
“During the assessment, some activities were revealed about Southwest Sports and Spine’s business practice with the City of Fort Worth’s Workers Compensation program that caused the Police Department some concern, including not returning police officers to work timely,” according to a letter to the media outlet from Acting Police Chief Robert Alldredge.
The clinic’s Dr. Jon Schweitzer told the Express that Alldredge requested his assistance in classifying some injured police officers in such a way that would require their health insurance to cover their injuries instead of utilizing workers’ compensation.
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Bayer is lobbying U.S. states to adjust their regulations in the battle to control costly litigation targeting its herbicide glyphosate but is also prepared for a possible exit from the market, the group’s CEO said on Thursday.
In recent years, outdoor laborers who contracted cancer as a result of using the weed killer have made workers’ compensation claims for the resulting disability.
Glyphosate is an herbicide and the active ingredient in Roundup, a popular weed killer made by Monsanto. It’s also classified as a probable carcinogen.
Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018 for $63 billion.
Reuters reported in March that Bayer told U.S. lawmakers it could stop selling Roundup unless they can strengthen legal protection against product liability litigation, according to a financial analyst and a person close to the matter.
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