A porter from New York earned extra cash working as a featherweight boxer in his off hours but after an injury to his arm that occurred during a boxing match, the porter was denied disability benefits from workers compensation.
The porter, Edelmiro Martinez, served with LeFrak City Management in an apartment complex. In July 2004, Martinez participated in a professional boxing match at the Mohegan Sun Casino located in Connecticut. During that match he injured the bicep in his left arm.
A subsequent MRI showed a torn bicep but Martinez returned to his job as a porter. He later reported an injury to his left bicep while carrying garbage bags on the job on August 18, 2004. He filed a claim for workers compensation benefits from LeFrak. The New York Workers Compensation Board discovered Martinez has a 30% loss of use rating due to the torn left bicep. However, the Board claims Martinez failed to report the previous injury.
The New York Supreme Court’s appellate division agreed with the Boards decision to deny workers compensation to the injured fighter. The law in New York states that claimants who have been receiving benefits from workers compensation are not eligible for those benefits when they have knowingly provided false information about their injury and their claim.
Additional evidence uncovered on Martinez indicated the boxer’s physician made contact with Martinez to advise him of the recommendation for surgery due to the tear in the bicep. Because the porter knowingly had information about his injury, he was held accountable for not revealing his boxing-related injury.
