Charleston firefighter awarded disability pension

CHARLESTON – A final order has been issued in a case involving a firefighter who sued the Firefighter’s Pension and Relief Fund of the City of Charleston after he claimed it failed to give him his pension.

The final order was issued on Jan. 4 and ordered that Lt. Brian Hunt be awarded a total permanent disability pension commencing retroactively from April 1, 2010.

Hunt’s monthly benefit is established at a rate of $2,227.38.

The arrearages extending from April 1, 2010, until the first monthly pension was a lump sum of $52,266.65.

Pursuant to his disability application to the defendant, and in accordance with West Virginia code, Hunt was sent to two physicians under the supervision of West Virginia University and Drs. Robert Gerbo and ChuanFang Jin, according to the complaint, which was filed Jan. 4, 2011, in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Hunt claimed both doctors found that he was totally and permanently disabled and maintained that he was unable to perform the duties of a firefighter.

Although both doctors were in agreement, the defendant sent Hunt to a third physician affiliated with Marshall University and that physician concluded that “in substance, that other testing, not contemplated by the statute or other authority, might be appropriate,” the complaint states.

Rather than granting Hunt’s pension, the defendant concluded that he was required to submit to further evaluation, which was contrary to the law, according to the complaint.

Hunt was represented by Mark McMillian of Mark McMillian-Attorney at Law, LC. The Firefighter’s Pension was represented by John F. Dascoli of John F. Dascoli, PLLC.

The case was assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 11-C-15