Name
Michael Robinson v. Goodall Landscaping, Inc.
Insurance Company
Memic
Date Decided
January 29, 2021
Panel Members
David Hirtle
Tom Pelletier
Mike Stovall
Categories
Benefit Payments Res Judicata Benefit Payments Res JudicataTags
File Size
107 KB
DownloadSummary from the Troubh Heisler Attorneys
Michael Robinson v. Goodall Landscaping (attached) – Robinson injured one of his eyes at Goodall, rendering it "functionally blind." Judge Knopf denied his first specific loss petition under §212 (3) (M), because he failed to present medical evidence that the injury permanently impaired his eye and that it caused him to lose 80% or more of his vision in that eye, as required by statute.
Robinson refiled his specific loss petition, presumably with new evidence, but Judge Knopf denied it on grounds of res judicata, as she had finally decided the matter in her prior decision. Robinson appealed, arguing that she had not made specific findings on the amount of lost vision, so his petition was not barred. The Appellate Division upheld Judge Knopf's decision, affirming that Robinson could have submitted his supporting evidence in the prior litigation, and that he had not established a change of medical circumstances since the last decree.