ROBERT WAHL, RESPONDENT, v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT., ET AL., APPELLANTS.

89 N.Y.2d 1065, 681 N.E.2d 1279, 659 N.Y.S.2d 833 (1997).
May 8, 1997

Submitted by Fay Ng, for Appellants.
Submitted by Edward S. Wactlar, for Respondent.

MEMORANDUM:

The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and the petition dismissed.

There was credible evidence before the Board of Trustees of lack of a causal relationship between petitioner's service-related injury and his disabling degenerative lumbar spine condition, in the form of the Medical Board's record-based, rational medical explanation and the testimony of the Department's Chief Medical Officer based upon an interpretation of the medical reports and MRI film (see, Matter of Meyer v Board of Trustees of the NYC Fire Dept., Art. I-B Pension Fund, __ NY2d __ [decided today]). The fact that the Medical Board did not ascertain the genesis of petitioner's longstanding and progressive disc disease does not invalidate its finding that this disabling condition was not causally connected to the service injury (see, Matter of Drayson v Board of Trustees of Police Pension Fund of City of New York, Art. 2, 37 AD2d 378, 381, affd 32 NY2d 852).

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On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.4 of the Rules, order reversed, with costs, and petition dismissed, in a memorandum. Chief Judge Kaye and Judges Titone, Bellacosa, Smith, Levine, Ciparick and Wesley concur.

Decided May 8, 1997