New York: No Indemnity by Employer Since No Showing of “Grave Injury”

Acknowledging that an employer may be liable to third parties for indemnification or contribution where the employer’s employee suffers a “grave injury,” as defined by N.Y. Workers Comp. Law § 11, a New York appellate court nevertheless reversed a trial court’s decision and directed the clerk to enter judgment in favor of the employer since there had been no actual showing of any grave injury. According to the court, the evidence indicated that although the injured employee was still being treated by a neurologist some four years after his original work-related injury, the worker went to the specialist’s office just once a month and, when there, only saw a non-physician. More importantly, said the court, the injured employee testified that he was looking for jobs and had obtained his GED. He was also able to drive his vehicle. On that record, there was no proof that the employee had sustained an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force that effected his ability to be employed in any capacity.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance.

See Alulema v. ZEV Elec. Corp., 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 175 (1st Dept. Jan. 10, 2019)

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 121.03.

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law