Claim of Ricci v. W.J. Riegel & Sons, Inc.

Crew III, J.P.

Appeal from a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Board, filed April 23, 2004, as amended by decision filed May 6, 2004, which denied the workers’ compensation carrier’s claim for reimbursement as untimely.

Claimant’s decedent suffered a fatal heart attack at his place of employment on December 17, 1992. The employer’s workers’ compensation carrier controverted the underlying claim, apparently contending that decedent’s demise was precipitated by his preexisting coronary artery disease and emphysema. The claim was closed in October 1993 pending receipt of prima facie medical…