ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York police officer denied disability retirement benefits after being injured rescuing a family during Superstorm Sandy deserves them because he wasn’t trained for such rescue work, his lawyer argued Tuesday before the state’s highest court. A lower court upheld the state’s denial of his application for accidental disability retirement, or ADR, saying Kelly’s injuries were a result of “risks inherent to being a police officer.” Kelly is appealing that ruling. Kelly is eligible for the enhanced pension benefits because he was injured as the result of an on-duty accident, Dougherty said. The lower court ruled that Pat Sica was eligible for the benefits because he suffered a heart ailment from being exposed to toxic gases while responding to an emergency at a supermarket in September 2001. The comptroller’s office argued that Sica’s injuries resulted from risks inherent to his duties as a firefighter and emergency medical technician trained to handle chemical incidents.

Source: National Post January 02, 2018 20:26 UTC