Opinion ID: 2387905
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Cook v. Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System

Text: On April 26, 1985, William Cook, a Monmouth County corrections officer, escorted Nancy Allen, an inmate, to the Ocean County Courthouse for arraignment. At the court's request, Cook removed Allen's handcuffs and pressure belt restraints once she arrived in the courtroom. Allen soon became unruly, screaming and flailing her arms about, trying desperately to escape. Officers Cook and Gibbons managed to drag Allen from the courtroom. They did not have time, however, to put on her restraint belt or handcuffs. The two officers and the inmate soon reached the top of a stairwell. Cook stood to Allen's right, holding her left arm. According to Cook, Allen suddenly jumped, dragging him down the stairs. His back, legs, and upper body banged against the wall and metal railing, and his lower back hit the edge of the stairs. Cook felt a sharp pain in his back. He testified that Allen kept fighting all the way down the stairs, banging, throwing, trying to get away from us with the elbows, kicking, scratching. She was beserk. Gibbons remembers Allen coming down the stairs quickly, swinging and kicking. He remembers seeing Cook sitting on the stairs, his left leg straight out, his right leg bent underneath. Both officers agreed that Allen was a very large woman, weighing in excess of 185 pounds. Shaking off intense pain, Cook helped Gibbons move the prisoner through the courtyard of the Ocean County Jail. With the aid of two others, the officers finally succeeded in pushing Allen into a waiting transportation van. Officer Cook immediately filed a report about the incident. Due to his injuries, the day of the incident turned out to be his last day of active duty as a corrections officer. Officer Cook admitted that prior to that day he had escorted unruly prisoners. He also acknowledged once having participated in a physical-restraining training session. Officer Gibbons, speaking about the April 26, 1985, incident, stated that I have had worse, believe me. Cook filed for accidental-disability benefits under N.J.S.A. 43:16A-3. The ALJ concluded that the incident was a traumatic event under the standards of Kane and awarded Cook accidental-disability benefits. The PFRS Board of Trustees denied his application after determining that there was no evidence that the disability was a result of a traumatic event. Instead, the Board, finding that Cook was permanently and totally disabled from the performance of his regular and assigned duties, awarded him ordinary-disability benefits. The Appellate Division reversed and awarded accidental-disability benefits, concluding that Cook had satisfied each prong of the Kane test. We granted certification, 113 N.J. 363 (1988), and consolidated this appeal with Gable.