Justice Alice Schlesinger
Lieutenant Flood challenged the final decision by the Board of Trustees which denied his line of duty pension. Flood was assigned to a new area and was to quickly do survey of a large parking lot, and take pictures. As he was walking quickly to a spot he was to photograph, his foot became lodged inside a crack on the ground, his right knee buckled and Flood fell backward, severely injuring his shoulder. He required four surgeries, including a replacement of his right shoulder with an artificial one. The Medical Board initially denied his request for Accident Disability Retirement (ADR), but the trustees remanded the matter and the board reconsidered, changing its mind. Yet, a trustee suggested the fall might be an incident, not an accident, which would not entitle Flood to ADR benefits. The trustees in a final vote were divided equally, thus ADR was denied. The court ruled the instant matter was an accident, not incident, noting Flood’s event was unexpected, sudden, and a fortuitous mischance that was injurious. Thus, it concluded Flood suffered an accident while on duty in 2008, and the resulting disability entitled him to an ADR award. The court granted Flood’s petition, annulling the trustee’s decision, and remanded the matter to the board to award Flood ADR benefits.
