Opinion
February 13, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Ramirez, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the law, with costs, the determination is confirmed, and the proceeding is dismissed on the merits.
When there is a tie vote of the Board of Trustees of the New York City Fire Department in determining whether accident disability retirement is appropriate, the Board of Trustees must retire the applicant on an ordinary disability pension (see, Matter of City of New York v. Schoeck, 294 N.Y. 559). The Board's decision can be set aside on judicial review only if it can be determined as a matter of law on the record that the disability was a natural and proximate result of a service-related accident (see, Matter of Hodges v. Board of Trustees, 203 A.D.2d 365; Matter of Flynn v. Board of Trustees, 201 A.D.2d 730). The petitioner has the burden of establishing that, as a matter of law, a causal relationship exists between the service-related accident and the claimed disability (see, Matter of Nicolosi v Board of Trustees, 198 A.D.2d 282). It is only when circumstances admit but one inference that the court may decide as a matter of law what inference should be drawn (see, Matter of Radigan v O'Connell, 304 N.Y. 396, 397; see also, Matter of Flynn v. Board of Trustees, supra). Moreover, not every line-of-duty injury will result in an accident disability retirement. The injury must be the result of a "`"sudden, fortuitous mischance, unexpected, out of the ordinary, and injurious in impact"'" (Matter of McCambridge v. McGuire, 62 N.Y.2d 563, 567-568; see also, Matter of Lichtenstein v. Board of Trustees, 57 N.Y.2d 1010, 1012).
Here, there was substantial medical evidence that the petitioner's knee condition was the result of a degenerative condition rather than a traumatic event. Thus, the petitioner has not met his burden of proving a causal connection, as a matter of law, between his line-of-duty injuries and his disabling condition (see, Matter of Scotto v. Board of Trustees, 76 A.D.2d 774, 775, affd 54 N.Y.2d 918; see also, Matter of Nicolosi v Board of Trustees, supra). Balletta, J.P., Ritter, Altman and Hart, JJ., concur.