Opinion
December 5, 1991
Appeal from the Workers' Compensation Board.
The employer contends that while claimant may have been permanently partially disabled, he could return to gainful employment and therefore the conclusion by the Workers' Compensation Board that claimant's injuries rendered him totally industrially disabled was in error. We disagree. As the Board noted, claimant's work history involved manual labor only, his education was limited and the occupations surveyed for him required either a high school education or job training. On this record there was a substantial basis to support the finding that these factors, coupled with claimant's injuries, rendered him "virtually unemployable" and, therefore, that he was totally industrially disabled (see, Matter of Kowalchyk v Lupe Constr. Co., 151 A.D.2d 927; Matter of Coluccio v Aenco, Inc., 147 A.D.2d 887). The employer's contentions to the contrary mainly involve questions of credibility for the Board to resolve (see, Matter of McCabe v Peconic Ambulance Supplies, 101 A.D.2d 679) and this includes the authority to selectively adopt portions of a medical expert's testimony (see, Matter of Lalla v Astoria Air Conditioning, 156 A.D.2d 808). The employer's remaining contentions have been considered and rejected as lacking in merit.
Casey, J.P., Weiss, Levine, Mercure and Crew III, JJ., concur. Ordered that the decision is affirmed, without costs.