Bill Text: NY A00681 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An act to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, in relation to providing for temporary payments of benefit pending final determination of claim

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to local governments [A00681 Detail]

Download: New_York-2009-A00681-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          681
                              2009-2010 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 7, 2009
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of A. CAHILL, GABRYSZAK, SCHROEDER, WALKER -- Multi-
         Sponsored by -- M. of A.  PHEFFER -- read once  and  referred  to  the
         Committee on Local Governments
       AN  ACT to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, in relation to
         providing for temporary payments of  benefit  pending  final  determi-
         nation of claim
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Section 40 of the volunteer firefighters' benefit  law,  as
    2  amended  by  chapter  544  of  the  laws  of 1957, is amended to read as
    3  follows:
    4    S 40.  [Notice] CLAIM ASSISTANCE UNIT; NOTICE of injury or death.  THE
    5  WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD SHALL ESTABLISH  A  VOLUNTEER  FIREFIGHTERS'
    6  BENEFIT  CLAIM ASSISTANCE UNIT. SUCH UNIT SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE TO INITI-
    7  ATE CONTACT WITH ANY VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER WHO SUSTAINS A LIFE THREATEN-
    8  ING INJURY, OR IN THE CASE OF DEATH, THE SURVIVING  DEPENDENTS  OF  SUCH
    9  VOLUNTEER  FIREFIGHTER AND SHALL PROVIDE ANY AND ALL ASSISTANCE REQUIRED
   10  TO FILE CLAIMS AND EXPEDITE PAYMENT OF ANY AND  ALL  BENEFITS  ALLOWABLE
   11  UNDER THIS CHAPTER.
   12    Notice  of  an  injury  or  death for which benefits are to be paid or
   13  provided under this chapter shall be given to the political  subdivision
   14  liable  for  the payment thereof within ninety days after such injury or
   15  death except that such notice need not be given  if  a  claim  is  filed
   16  pursuant  to  section  forty-one of this [chapter] ARTICLE within ninety
   17  days after such injury or death. Either such notice may be given by  any
   18  person  claiming to be entitled to such benefits [or], by someone in his
   19  OR HER behalf, OR BY A CLAIM ASSISTANT.  The notice shall be in writing,
   20  shall contain the name and address of the volunteer fireman,  and  state
   21  in ordinary language the time, place, nature and cause of the injury and
   22  shall be signed by him OR HER or by a person on his OR HER behalf or, in
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD00601-01-9
       A. 681                              2
    1  case  of  death,  by any one or more of his OR HER dependents, [or] by a
    2  person on their behalf, OR BY A CLAIM ASSISTANT.   The notice  shall  be
    3  given  to the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county, the comp-
    4  troller  or  chief  financial officer of the city, the town clerk of the
    5  town, the clerk of the village or the secretary of the fire district, as
    6  the case may be, by delivering it  to  such  officer  or  by  registered
    7  letter properly addressed to such officer.
    8    The failure to give notice of injury or notice of death shall be a bar
    9  to  any  claim  under this chapter unless such failure is excused by the
   10  [workmen's] WORKERS' compensation board on any of the following grounds,
   11  (1) that for some sufficient reason  the  notice  could  not  have  been
   12  given,  (2) that a member of a body in charge of, or any officer of, the
   13  fire department or fire company had  knowledge  within  such  ninety-day
   14  period  of the injuries or death, (3) that the political subdivision, or
   15  its insurance carrier had not been prejudiced by a delay in giving  such
   16  notice,  or  (4) that the cause of disablement or death was not known to
   17  be the result of service performed in line of duty as a volunteer  fire-
   18  man in sufficient time to comply with the provisions of this section.
   19    S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
   20  it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
   21  ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
   22  necessary for the implementation of this act on its  effective  date  is
   23  authorized  and  directed  to  be  made  and completed on or before such
   24  effective date.