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04-09-2020 - Initial Disability Hearing CITY OF EDGEWATER FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION BOARD INITIAL DISABILITY HEARING MEETING MINUTES City Hall Council Chambers Thursday, April 09, 2020 at 10:OOAM TRUSTEES PRESENT: Justin Nickels David Blair Ron Hayward James Binder TRUSTEES ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: Ken Harrison, Sugarman &Susskind (via phone) Michelle Rodriguez, Foster& Foster William Dailey, Member of the Plan 1. Call to Order—Justin Nickels called the meeting to order at 10:02am. 2. Roll Call —As reflected above. 3. Public Comments— None. 4. New Business a. Initial Disability Hearing—William Dailey i. Ken Harrison confirmed that everyone had received a copy of the disability binder and had a chance to review it.Justin Nickels asked Ken if William Dailey's disability claim was valid and Ken said it was. Ken commented the approval of Mr. Dailey's Workers' Compensation Claim established the disability was duty related. ii. William Dailey commented he did not know if he was currently on Workers' Compensation, but he did receive a settlement. Ken Harrison commented there was a determination that it was duty related. iii. Ken Harrison advised the Board of the three questions that needed to be answered in order to grant an In-the-Line-of-Duty (ILOD) disability; did the disability prevent them from performing their duties, was the disability permanent and was the disability duty related? iv. Ken Harrison reviewed the questions at the end of the Independent Medical Examination (IME) and commented the first one stated Mr. Dailey did suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD). v. Ken Harrison commented the second question stated the symptoms were directly related to specific incidents while on duty. vi. Ken Harrison commented the third question stated Mr. Dailey could not adequately perform his duties as a firefighter. Ken reviewed the fourth question which asked if Mr. Dailey's condition could be improved through treatment; the IME's answer was not conclusive, stating Mr. Dailey did not have adequate medical intervention, so it was not clear if he would benefit from any treatment. In addition, the IME stated it was not possible to determine prior to treatment if Mr. Dailey would improve enough to return to work as a firefighter. vii. Ken Harrison commented the fifth question, which asked if Mr. Dailey was totally and permanently disabled, stated that it was not possible to know if the PTSD was permanent, but Mr. Dailey was unable to perform as a firefighter at this time. viii. David Blair commented there were three doctors who stated Mr. Dailey could not perform his duties as a firefighter. Justin Nickels asked William Dailey if he had tried medication and Mr. Dailey stated he had.Justin asked Ken Harrison to review the disability retirement review process. Ken advised the Board they could periodically require disability retirees to recertify their disability. Ken commented this was usually not done more than once annually and involved having the disability retiree produce a statement from their doctor stating there had been no change in their condition. Ken commented this usually did not continue past the retiree's normal retirement date. ix. Justin Nickels asked if new treatments became available sometime in the future would Mr. Dailey be required to try them. Ken Harrison commented the Board would have to make a determination at the time, and it would have to be at the Board's expense. x. Ken Harrison advised the Board, if it were discovered that Mr. Dailey was performing firefighter duties elsewhere, his disability retirement benefit would immediately cease. xi. Ron Hayward asked what would happen if Mr. Dailey refused a treatment that became available in the future. Ken Harrison commented the Board would have the option to terminate the benefit. xii. Justin Nickels thanked Mr. Dailey for his service to the City and asked if he had any comments to make. William Dailey commented people who did not have experience as a firefighter should not be able to have input in these decisions. The Board voted to approve William Dailev's In-the-Line-of-Dutv Disabilitv Retirement, upon motion bv David Blair and second bv Ron Havward; motion carried 3-1 with James Binder opposinq. xiii. Michelle Rodriguez commented the benefit was payable on the first day of the month following approval and it was prorated to the date of approval. xiv. David Blair pointed out a discrepancy in the Summary Plan Description and Ken Harrison said the administrator would look into it. 5. Adiournment— Meeting adjourned at 10:44am. 6. Next Meetinq —June 08, 2020, at 4:OOpm. Respectfully s�mitted by: Approved by: ___ ,f , - — %`�� ��'�� '`C � �(� �<�2-�=� -- �,� �� Michelle Rodriguez, Plan Ad�nir��istrator Justin ickels, Chairman 06/08/2020 Date Approved by the Pension Board: