What Do You Think?
If a security guard falls at work and no one is there to see it, is it work-related? A case involving a security company employee who lost his footing on the top step of a staircase addresses how New York judges analyze claims involving unwitnessed injuries.
In that case, the guard was walking down to the basement at work to change into his uniform before the start of his shift. He slipped and fell head-first. An hour later, someone found him at the bottom of the stairs, unable to move. He was taken to the ER, where he was diagnosed with a spinal injury and partial paralysis.
The claimant said he slipped because there were snow flurries and rain that day and employees tracked snow onto the stairs, causing them to become slick. He said he did not feel faint or lose consciousness before falling and that it had been a long while since he last had alcohol. The ER doctor’s findings were consistent with those assertions.
The company denied the guard’s worker’s compensation claim, contending the accident happened because the employee had consumed alcohol sometime prior to the fall, or that he fainted. The company also provided evidence that it did not snow the night prior to the incident.
For a workplace injury to be compensable, it must arise out of and in the course of a claimant’s employment.
Was the security guard’s claim compensable?
A. No. Under New York law, it is presumed that an unwitnessed injury has an idiopathic (personal) cause, such as a pre-existing health condition. The claimant has to put forward evidence to overcome that presumption.
B. Yes. The employer didn’t provide evidence that the fall was triggered by a health condition personal to the claimant.
If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Mondesir v. Allied Universal, No. CV-24-1910 (N.Y. App. Div. 03/26/26), which found the claim compensable.
The court explained that in New York, when an accident is unwitnessed or unexplained, it is presumed to be compensable. It’s up to the employer to come up with substantial evidence to overcome that presumption, such as testimony or other information indicating that some existing medical condition precipitated the injury.
Here, the claimant was entitled to the presumption of compensability and the employer failed to overcome it. It didn’t, for example, provide any medical opinions connecting the fall to some existing medical condition or other reason personal to the claimant.
The court affirmed the workers’ compensation board’s conclusion that the injury arose out of and in the course of employment.
