The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York ruled Thursday that the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board improperly denied a claim filed by a construction worker whose toe had to be amputated following a workplace injury.
The board had affirmed a workers comp judge’s decision to disallow the claim of Eddy Irizarry, who was injured in February 2021 when he stepped on a nail at a construction site. Mr. Irizarry, an employee of Lopez Matos Construction Inc., had a history of diabetes.
Following hearings and an independent medical evaluation, the workers comp judge found the claim non-compensable and the board subsequently agreed.
The appeals court ruled the board erred by focusing on a procedural issue and not the merits of the claim. It remanded the case, Matter of Irizarry v. Lopez Matos Constr. Inc., to the board with instructions to address the substance of the claim.