‘Bissell case’ probe is sought [The Buffalo News, N.Y.]

March 05--Amherst Republican Assemblyman Ray Walter has asked the Assembly Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation to look into a state agency's role in a long-standing personal injury case that has cost the Town of Amherst and its insurer more than $23 million.

What is known in Amherst as "the Bissell case" refers to a 10-year-old legal matter that began in 2002 when a roofer fell off a roof on town-maintained property and broke his neck, leaving him partly paralyzed.

The case now pits the town against the New York State Insurance Fund, which represented the defunct roofing company but has refused to pay claims despite multiple legal judgments in the town's favor.

Walter, a member of the oversight committee, said he has asked Chairman Andrew Hevesi to consider launching an investigation into possible improprieties by the State Insurance Fund. He said Hevesi is considering the possibility.

After the roofing accident involving Peter Bissell in 2002, multiple lawsuits followed. The town ended up paying $23.4 million to the Bissell family in 2008. The town's insurance carrier covered $10 million, but the town had to borrow $13.4 million to pay for the rest.

The town was liable because of the state's Scaffold Law, which holds property owners responsible for any injury to workers occurring on their property regardless of fault.

Despite these two court judgments, the officers of McGonigle and Hilger Roofing did not require their insurance company, the State Insurance Fund, to cover the claim.

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