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A firefighter who was injured stepping off a fire truck couldn't prove the event wasn't “a sudden, fortuitous mischance” and, therefore, isn't entitled to accidental disability retirement benefits, a New York appellate court ruled Thursday.
Joseph Mercurio worked as a fire lieutenant in February 2011 when he twisted his knee stepping from the cab of a fire engine into a 3-foot snowbank, court records show.
Mr. Mercurio's application for accidental disability retirement benefits was denied by the retirement board because his injury was not the result of “ordinary employment duties,” according to records. Rather, the board said his injury was the result of “an unexpected event.”
The state controller agreed, leading Mr. Mercurio to challenge the decision, records show.
According to records, Mr. Mercurio testified that, while working as a firefighter, he had been to the street where he twisted his knee at least six times prior to the incident. He also said the exact spot where the incident occurred was where he would normally step off the truck.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the New York Supreme Court appellate division upheld the denial of accidental disability retirement benefits and dismissed Mr. Mercurio's petition.
Mr. Mercurio could have "reasonably anticipated the hazard, even if he did not see the curb before the fall,” the ruling states.
To be entitled to accidental disability retirement benefits, Mr. Mercurio would have had to prove “the precipitating injury was caused by an incident that was a sudden, fortuitous mischance, unexpected, out of the ordinary, and injurious in impact,” according to the ruling.