N.Y. Appellate Court Finds Evidence Linking Past Asbestos Exposure to Claimant’s Lung Disease

NEW YORK –– A New York appellate court has reversed a decision denying disability reimbursement to the employer of a former electrical construction mechanic, finding sufficient evidence that the mechanic’s past work with asbestos contributed to his interstitial lung disease.

In its July 3 opinion, the 3rd Department of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court found that the Workers’ Compensation Board erred when it found that Michael Joseph Surianello was permanently disabled solely from his work at the World Trade Center in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Michael Joseph Surianello worked as an …