Not-So-Total Disability Caught on Camera

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York affirmed a judgment issued by the Workers Compensation Board (Board) that a New York man claiming to be 100 percent disabled have his benefits revoked and be permanently disqualif[ied]…from receiving wage replacement benefits.” The case is Arena v. Upstate Niagara Coop., 2022 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4995 (N.Y. App. Div. 2022).

Michael Arena suffered a work-related back injury in January 2020, which was confirmed by an MRI the next month. His initial treatment plan relied on medication and physical therapy, but his pain worsened, and he received two “lumbar interlaminar epidurals.” From April to August, Arena was 100 percent disabled.