Section 13-163. Medical review in transit police member disability cases

a.
  As used in this section, the following terms shall mean and include:
    (1) "Bargaining  representative".  The  public  employee  organization
  which is authorized to represent a transit police member for purposes of
  collective bargaining with the New York city transit authority.
    (2)  "Panel  of medical experts". Those physicians whose names are set
  forth in a list of medical experts prepared annually by the commissioner
  of health and filed in his or her office and with the executive director
  of the retirement system  on  or  before  July  first.  The  experts  so
  designated  shall  be physicians having qualifications as specialists in
  such  fields  of  medicine  as  such  commissioner  deems  an  essential
  background  (i)  for  ascertaining,  in  cases  where an application for
  disability retirement is filed by or with respect to  a  transit  police
  member,  whether such member is physically or mentally incapacitated for
  the performance of city-service, and (ii) for rendering  of  reports  or
  certifications  as  to  diagnosis and issues of causal relationship with
  respect to such applications. Each of such physicians  shall  have  had,
  prior  to  his or her designation, at least ten years of practice in the
  field with respect to which he or she is designated. The names  of  such
  physicians  shall  be  separately grouped on such list, according to the
  fields of medicine in which they are expert, and the names in each group
  shall be consecutively numbered.
    (3) "Party entitled to review". Either of the following:
    (i) the bargaining representative of such member; or
    (ii) the New York city transit authority.
    b. (1) In any case where an application for retirement  of  a  transit
  police  member  for disability has been filed pursuant to section 13-157
  of this chapter, the secretary of the retirement system, promptly  after
  the  retirement board acts on the report or certification of the medical
  board with respect to such application, shall give notice of such action
  by the board constituting such head to such member and to the  New  York
  city transit authority. Within fifteen days after such notification, any
  party  entitled  to review may file with the secretary a written request
  that a special medical committee, as provided for in this section, shall
  review the conclusions and recommendations  of  the  medical  board  set
  forth in its report or certification.
    (2)  (i)  Any  request for review filed by a bargaining representative
  with respect to such application for disability retirement shall be void
  and of no effect unless such request includes a waiver,  as  hereinafter
  provided, duly executed and acknowledged by the transit police member or
  by  a  person  acting in his or her behalf as hereinafter provided. Such
  waiver may be executed by a person acting in behalf of  such  member  in
  any  case  where,  at  the  time of the execution of such waiver by such
  person,  the  circumstances  are  such  that  if  such  application  for
  disability  retirement  had not been previously filed by or with respect
  to such  member,  such  person  would  at  such  time  of  execution  be
  authorized  under  the  provisions  of section 13-157 of this chapter to
  file, as a person acting in behalf of such member,  an  application  for
  disability retirement of such member.
    (ii)  Such  waiver  shall  provide  that the execution thereof by such
  member or by a person  acting  in  his  or  her  behalf  as  hereinabove
  authorized  shall constitute an agreement by such member that his or her
  application for disability  retirement  under  section  13-157  of  this
  chapter  shall  be  disposed  of by action of the board constituting the
  head of the  retirement  system  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this
  section,  that such action shall be final and conclusive, and that he or
  she waives any and all rights which he or she might  otherwise  have  to
  seek  or obtain any other disposition of such application for disability

  retirement by court or administrative proceedings or otherwise. A waiver
  so executed and filed shall be effective and binding upon  such  member,
  in accordance with its terms.
    c.  Promptly  after the filing of a request for review to be made by a
  special medical committee, the secretary shall transmit a copy  of  such
  request  and  of the report or certification of the medical board to the
  commissioner of health.
    d. The commissioner, upon receipt of such report or certification  and
  request,  shall  promptly designate three of the physicians on the panel
  of medical experts as a special medical committee  for  the  purpose  of
  reviewing  the  recommendations  and conclusions of the medical board in
  such case. Such physicians shall be selected by  him  or  her  from  the
  panel group possessing the specialist qualifications deemed essential by
  him  or  her  for  such review. All selections of physicians pursuant to
  this subdivision d shall be made in order of numerical standing  in  the
  group from which selection is to be made, and on the basis of continuous
  rotation within the group.
    e. (1) Promptly after making the selection prescribed by subdivision d
  of  this  section,  the commissioner of health shall notify the selected
  physicians and the executive director thereof.
    (2) Such special medical committee shall,  within  thirty  days  after
  such  notification  to  the  physicians  constituting  such committee is
  completed, perform, with respect to the application  for  retirement  of
  such member for disability, the same functions of medical examination or
  otherwise  as  are  prescribed  by  applicable  provisions  of  law  for
  performance by the medical board with respect to such  application,  and
  shall  within  such  period  adopt  by  majority  vote and file with the
  executive director a report  or  certification,  as  the  case  may  be,
  stating the conclusions and recommendations of such committee concerning
  the  matters  required  to  be  reported  on or certified by the medical
  board, pursuant to such applicable provisions of law,  with  respect  to
  such application.
    f.   The  conclusions  and  recommendations  of  the  special  medical
  committee shall supersede those of the medical board.
    g. (1) Each physician who serves as a  member  of  a  special  medical
  committee  shall receive a fee for such service, to be determined by the
  comptroller of the city.
    (2) With respect to each case in which  a  special  medical  committee
  acts,  one-half  of  the  fees of the members of such committee shall be
  paid by the city. The other half of such  fees  shall  be  paid  by  the
  bargaining representative of the transit police member concerned in such
  case.
    h.  (1)  Within  forty-five  days  after  the  filing of the report or
  certification of the special medical committee, the  board  constituting
  the  head  of  the  retirement  system  shall  act  on  such  report  or
  certification as hereinafter provided in this subdivision h.
    (2) If the application is for ordinary disability  retirement  of  the
  member  pursuant  to  section 13-157 of this chapter, and if the medical
  examination by the special medical committee shows that such  member  is
  physically  or  mentally  incapacitated for the performance of duty as a
  uniformed police officer patrolling the transit system and ought  to  be
  retired, such committee shall so report and such board constituting such
  head  shall retire such member for ordinary disability as of the date on
  which such board constituting such head  acted  on  the  report  of  the
  medical board with respect to such application, or as of the date ninety
  days after the filing of such application for such retirement, whichever
  is earlier.

    (3)  If  the  application is for accident disability retirement of the
  member pursuant to section 13-157 of this chapter  and  if  the  medical
  examination  and  investigation  of  the special medical committee shows
  that such  member  is  physically  or  mentally  incapacitated  for  the
  performance  of  city-service  as  a  natural and proximate result of an
  accidental injury received in such city-service while a member, and that
  such disability was not the result of wilful negligence on the  part  of
  such  member and that such member should be retired, the special medical
  committee shall so certify to such board constituting such head  stating
  the  time,  place  and conditions of such city-service performed by such
  member resulting in such disability, and such  board  constituting  such
  head  shall retire such member for accident disability as of the date on
  which such board acted on the report of the medical board  with  respect
  to such application.
    i.  In  any  case  where  a  request  for  review by a special medical
  committee is filed pursuant to  the  provisions  of  this  section,  the
  provisions  of section 13-157 of this chapter shall be superseded by the
  provisions of this section to the extent that  the  provisions  of  this
  section are inconsistent therewith.
    j.  (1)  In  any case where the provisions of this section require the
  executive director to give  notice  to  a  transit  police  member,  the
  secretary  may give such notice by delivery to such member personally or
  by mailing same to his or her  last  known  address,  as  shown  by  the
  records  of  the  transit police department of the New York city transit
  authority.
    (2) In any case where the  provisions  of  this  section  require  the
  giving of notice or the transmission of papers to any other person, such
  notice may be given or transmission effected by delivery to such person,
  by  delivery  at his or her office to any of his or her employees, or by
  mailing to the office address of such person.
    (3) In any case where  notice  is  given  by  mail  pursuant  to  this
  subdivision  j,  such  notice shall be deemed to be given on the date of
  mailing.