October 28, 2019

The Supreme Court of New York, appellate division, ruled to remand an earlier decision that denied coverage of an injured police officer's medical marijuana for chronic pain that he suffers after a car accident. The case is In the Matter of the Claim of James Kluge, v. Town of Tonawanda et al., Workers Compensation Board, 2019 NY Slip Op 07470 (App. Div.)

In 1997 a New York police officer sustained work-related injuries while at the scene of a car accident when he slipped on icy pavement and fell down, suffering injuries to his lower back and right hip. He put in a claim for workers' compensation benefits and was ultimately classified with a permanent partial disability. In August 2017, the officer's treating physician filed a form to request authorization to treat the chronic pain with medical marijuana. The workers' compensation carrier denied the request. The claimant filed a form seeking review of the denial of the request. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge considered submission of additional medical evidence and approved the request for causally-related medical marijuana treatment. The decision was reversed when the Workers' Compensation Board found that it could not approve a variance for treatment that had already been rendered. The claimant filed an appeal.