“Ralph Kirk's dedication to the health and welfare of workers give many a victim a strong and able voice.”
Dear Ralph: May I first express my sincerest regards. As you know, my name is [withheld] and I am a retired pesticide inspector. I worked for nearly 20 years for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. My career was cut short by what was proven in a court of law to be the result of on-the-job exposures to pesticides. With the help of Ralph Kirk, I was able to prove that these exposures led to my Parkinson's disease. I have no doubt that without the unflinching support of Ralph Kirk, I would have lost my Workers' Compensation case. (Indeed, it would be hard for me to imagine the gravity of such a loss. My family and life would have been ruined.) After my having given nearly two decades of my life to protecting the health of the people of New York, and of their environment, deciding on my behalf was both the moral and legal thing for the Workers' Compensation Board to do. Although my case was strong and scientifically grounded, a grudging five-year legal fight had to be fought - and largely because Ralph Kirk and his gifted teams of workers' compensation specialists were involved from the onset, I prevailed. Ralph Kirk's dedication to the health and welfare of workers in New York State give many a victim a strong and able voice in what often seems like a forbidden sea of bureaucracy.
- P.R.C
