It was a long haul, but dogged determination and confidence between client and counsel can win the day.  It  is worth noting as a practice point that under the WCL, the Board is obligated to reimburse employers/carriers/SIEs for claims that are, like this one,  established by the Board, but later quashed by higher judicial review since WCL Sec. 23 does not permit a stay on benefits during the pendency of an appeal to the Third Department.   Closing this post, we wonder how many poor decisions rendered by the WCB, decisions begging for higher appellate review, go un-appealed to the Third Department, owing to the time and cost involved.  How many of these poor decisions, by virtue of remaining unchallenged, and thus wrongly reinforced as “settled precedent.”