Van Buren v. Regan

Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 (transferred to this Court by order of the Supreme Court, entered in Albany County) to review a determination of respondent which denied petitioner’s application for performance of duty disability retirement benefits.

It is uncontroverted that petitioner suffers from mitral valve prolapse (hereinafter MVP), a structural abnormality of the heart which takes years to develop. The medical experts for petitioner and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System both agreed that the cause of MVP is unknown. The expert for the Retirement System…