Tweak on a Workers' Compensation Law Issue -- Appellate Division, Second Department Recent Decision

The Appellate Division, Second Department in Baldwin v. City of New York addressed an interesting tweak on a workers' compensation law issue.  The plaintiff previously injured himself while within the scope of his employment, applied for workers' compensation benefits, and received them.  The plaintiff was being transported to physical therapy by one of his employer's ambulette's when his injuries were aggravated by an automobile accident. 

The defendant employer moved for summary judgment in a personal-injury action that the plaintiff commenced regarding his aggravated injuries.  It argued that the plaintiff's injuries were from only the original, work-related accident.  The Second Department held that issues of fact existed on whether the subsequent accident aggravated the injuries.  The Court noted that a "plaintiff's application for, and acceptance of, Workers' Compensation benefits d[oes] not preclude him [or her] from bringing a separate common-law action to recover damages based on the subsequent acts of negligence which result[] in the aggravation of his [or her] work-related injuries where the aggravation of the injuries did not arise out of or in the course of the plaintiff's employment."

Comments

[D money]

This is an extremely well settled area of law

[Matt]

Yes, thank you for the comment. The Decision makes that clear. And I understand the post's title might be interpreted to make this decision seem novel.

However, I really liked the fact pattern and wanted to bring it to light because even well-settled law to some is a new discovery to others. I hope at least some readers learned something new from it. I did.