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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Chavez Cashes in Work Comp Claim
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
By Mike Gallagher
Journal Investigative Reporter
Mayor Martin Chávez received a $37,000 lump sum workers' compensation settlement this month for a back injury he suffered during a 2004 bosque fire — news that surprised a former City Council president who said he had never heard about the injury.
Chávez hurt himself while jumping a fence to get to the APD helicopter during the June 2004 blaze that destroyed several buildings in the South Valley. Earlier this month, Worker's Compensation Judge Gregory Griego found the mayor had suffered a 14 percent permanent impairment due to the injury.
Chávez hasn't been collecting benefits because he has been working and getting his full salary.
Now that he is leaving office, he has chosen a reduced lump sum instead of biweekly payouts, which is allowed if the employee continues to work for six months after the injury.
Carlos Martinez, a private attorney who represents the city in workers' compensation cases, said, "This just followed the book. It isn't unusual when someone leaves employment to cash out and move on."
Chávez was at a global warming conference in Denmark on Monday but e-mailed a release of some records to the Journal. They show he herniated a disk in the lower part of his spine, leading to pain in his lower back and right leg.
Chávez received treatment for the injury including steroid injections to reduce swelling of the disk, which was putting pressure on a spinal nerve.
City Councilor Brad Winter, who lost the mayoral race to Chávez in 2005, said he was unaware of the injury.
"I don't think any of the councilors were aware," Winter said. "How do you negotiate a settlement when everyone works for him? I don't get that."
Chávez's communications officer, Deborah James, said the mayor's staff, fire department officials and police were aware of the injury.
Fire Chief Robert Ortega said he recalled the fire and Chávez getting injured.
"I wasn't present at the time, but I was aware of it," Ortega said.
Chávez's 14 percent impairment rating was determined by an outside physician.
Taking the lump sum meant the total amount he received was reduced by 5 percent.
As long as Chávez continued to work, drawing at least 80 percent of his salary, his claim was in a status called "maximum medical improvement," meaning it wasn't getting worse or better. That status freezes the statute of limitations to finalize the claim.
Chávez filed his initial claim the same month as the fire in June 2004, and filed a final claim with the city in late October. Griego approved the settlement after a telephone hearing on Nov. 5.
A spokesman for Chávez said the injury occurred during a South Valley bosque fire that burned several structures and took three days to extinguish.
The bosque trails throughout the county and city were closed off and on during the summer of 2004 because of fire danger.
According to a letter Chávez wrote to City Attorney Bob White soon after the incident:
"At the time of the 6-10-04 Bosque Fire, I jumped over a fence to get to the APD helicopter injuring my back. My Doctor Richard Castillo has diagnosed a herniated disk at the L4-L5 subject to an MRI and provided me with a steroid injection." According to a July 1, 2004, MRI report from New Mexico Orthopaedic Associates, the herniated disk was pressing on a nerve root, confirming Castillo's diagnosis.
Castillo wrote a letter to the city Claims Division in January 2006, restating the herniated disk as the reason for Chávez's back and right leg pain.
The city is still responsible for any medical treatment resulting from the injury.
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