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The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court recently overturned a decision by Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB), and ordered a Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) to calculate work comp benefits for a claimant who suffered a heart attack on the job. The WCJ and WCAB rejected his claim for worker's comp benefits because he failed to show that his heart attack was caused by his job at a restaurant.
The restaurant manager testified that, in April 2008, he was moving keg barrels at the restaurant when he began to experience chest pains. He stopped and rested in his office for about two hours. He did not seek medical attention.
A few days later, he lifted a large pot of chili and again experienced chest pains. His wife, who worked with him, later discovered him resting in his car, and took him to a family physician. He was immediately referred to a hospital and was hospitalized for a few days. He returned to work, and had a quintuple bypass six weeks later.
Cardiologist Testified that Lifting 100-Pound Keg Caused Heart Attack
A board-certified cardiologist testified that he found the claimant to be in good health with controlled blood pressure several months after the quintuple bypass. But the cardiologist also testified that the claimant had experienced a serious narrowing in his arteries right before he was hospitalized - referred to as acute coronary syndrome. The cardiologist testified that claimant's heart damage "could" have been caused by and "probably" was caused by the heavy lifting that the claimant preformed at work.
The cardiologist also testified that the manager told him he exercised in the morning on both days that he experienced chest pains, but did not feel pain after working out. The cardiologist also admitted on cross-examination that the claimant had a plaque build-up in his arteries that was not cause by his job.
The WCJ found the expert's testimony to be credible, but "equivocal," so the claimant could not show that the heavy lifting at his job caused the damage to his heart. The WCJ denied workman's comp benefits, and the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board agreed with the WCJ.
On appeal, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court disagreed. After reviewing the testimony of the cardiologist as a whole, the court concluded that the cardiologist's testimony had shown that the claimant's heavy lifting had contributed to his heart attack, and that he had suffered a work-related injury. The court reversed and remanded to the WCJ to calculate work comp benefits for the restaurant manager.
Obtaining work comp benefits after a work-related injury can be difficult and can take persistence. An experienced worker's compensation attorney can advise you of your legal options and help you to pursue your work comp claim.
