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A DISFIGURING OUTCOME?

j0382868.jpgIn Fleming v. Graham , Cedric Fleming was injured when the van in which he was riding collided with a school bus driven by an employee of Evergreen Bus Service.

Fleming sustained scars on his forehead and right upper eyelid and it was unclear whether his scars were correctable. Since New York's Workers Compensation Law allows injured workers to file a negligence case when they suffer "permanent and severe facial disfigurement," the Kings County Supreme Court denied his employer's request to dismiss the case, citing "issues of fact" On appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed.

When the dispute reached our state's highest court, the New York State Court of Appeals found Fleming's injuries didn't meet the law's "severity" standard because his scarring wasn't shocking, unsightly, nor detrimentally altered his "natural beauty, symmetry or appearance."

Beauty was in the eyes of those beholders.

j0162976.gifFor a copy of the Court of Appeals' decision, please use this link: Fleming v. Graham

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