Got a terrific Board Panel decision today that will make my client happy and an insurance company and its lawyers unhappy.  A unanimous Board Panel penalized the insurance company $500 for filing a frivolous appeal.  That $500 is paid to my client.

There are a couple of things about this Board Panel decision that make it particularly sweet.  First, the decision that the insurance company frivolously appealed was a decision that awarded my client a penalty of nearly $4,400.  I sought this first penalty for late payment of his lost wage benefit.   So the $500  penalty for frivilous appeal was on top of the nearly $4,400  penalty for late payment of lost wages.

The other thing that makes this Board Panel decision special  is that this is the first time I’ve gotten a penalty against a carrier for filing a frivolous appeal.  Insurance companies delay and deny and they endlessly appeal.  I routinely seek and obtain penalties when the insurance company delays in paying my clients’ lost wage benefits and I routinely seek penalties for frivolous appeal.  I’ve been trying to get insurance companies penalized for frivolous appeals since I started practicing Workers’ Compensation and I was beginning to wonder if the Board would find anything frivolous.  Well . . . I’m happy to say that the Board will assess a penalty for filing a frivolous appeal.  Insurance companies beware.
Thanks for reading,
Eric

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Eric L. Johnson, Esq.
Workers’ Compensation and Disability Attorney
Ziff Law Firm, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14901
Tel: (607) 733-8866
Fax: (607) 732-6062
Toll Free: 1-800-943-3529
Email: ejohnson@zifflaw.com
Web: http://www.zifflaw.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AttorneyEric
Admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina