State of New York

Supreme Court, Appellate Division

Third Judicial Department

Decided and Entered: October 2, 2014 518446 

________________________________

In the Matter of PATRICK

HYLAND,

Petitioner,

v MEMORANDUM AND JUDGMENT

NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER 

et al.,

Respondents.

________________________________

Calendar Date: September 8, 2014

Before: McCarthy, J.P., Rose, Egan Jr., Devine and Clark, JJ.

__________

Edelstein & Grossman, New York City (Jonathan I. Edelstein

of counsel), for petitioner.

Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, Albany (William E.

Storrs of counsel), for respondents.

__________

McCarthy, J.P.

Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 (transferred to this

Court by order of the Supreme Court, entered in Albany County) to

review a determination of respondent Comptroller which denied

petitioner's application for accidental disability retirement

benefits.

Petitioner, a police officer, applied for accidental

disability retirement benefits alleging that he was permanently

incapacitated as a result of an incident that occurred while he

was disposing of property at a landfill. A hearing ensued, at

the conclusion of which the Hearing Officer denied petitioner's

application for benefits on the ground that the incident did not
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constitute an accident within the meaning of the Retirement and

Social Security Law, and respondent Comptroller upheld that

determination. This CPLR article 78 proceeding ensued.

We confirm. This Court has repeatedly held that accidental

injuries are those caused by "a sudden and extraordinary event

that is unrelated to the ordinary risks of employment" (Matter of

Carducci v DiNapoli, 77 AD3d 1052, 1053 [2010] [internal

quotation marks and citations omitted]; accord Matter of Del

Salto v DiNapoli, 115 AD3d 1147, 1148 [2014]; Matter of Jarosz v

DiNapoli, 95 AD3d 1500, 1501 [2012]). That is, "[a]n accident is

defined as a sudden, fortuitous, out of the ordinary and

unexpected event that does not result from an activity undertaken

in the performance of regular or routine employment duties"

(Matter of Emerson v DiNapoli, 115 AD3d 1145, 1145 [2014]

[internal quotation marks and citations omitted]; see Matter of

Stimpson v Hevesi, 38 AD3d 979, 980 [2007]; Matter of Pryor v

Hevesi, 14 AD3d 776, 776 [2005]). Here, petitioner was injured

when his police-issued glove caught on a bracket attached to an

approximately 70-pound automobile seat that he was throwing from

a police truck into a dumpster. Petitioner was propelled toward

the dumpster, along with the seat, causing him to become wedged

between a concrete pad and the dumpster itself. Notwithstanding

petitioner's characterization of the incident as being "far more

reminiscent of a Looney Tunes episode featuring Wile E. Coyote

than of an ordinary misstep or expected hazard," the record

reflects that petitioner was injured while he was engaged in the

ordinary course of his duties as a police officer. Inasmuch as

an injury caused by gear getting caught while throwing a heavy

piece of evidence into a dumpster is a hazard that could be

reasonably anticipated, substantial evidence supports the

Comptroller's determination that petitioner did not suffer an

accidental injury (see Matter of Del Salto v DiNapoli, 115 AD3d

at 1148-1149; Matter of Carducci v DiNapoli, 77 AD3d at 1053;

Matter of Stimpson v Hevesi, 38 AD3d at 980; Matter of Pryor v

Hevesi, 14 AD3d at 777).

Rose, Egan Jr., Devine and Clark, JJ., concur.
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ADJUDGED that the determination is confirmed, without

costs, and petition dismissed.

ENTER:

Robert D. Mayberger

Clerk of the Court