WORKERS' COMPENSATION FOR HEART ATTACKS

Heart attacks may be work related and can result in workers' compensation benefits. Considered a "mental/physical" injury, a heart attack is work related if the worker can prove that "abnormal working conditions" triggered the heart attack. The worker must be able to prove that specific events at work precipitated the heart attack and that those events were not part of the normal workday.

A heart attack or other stress injury is merely part of the everyday stress that flows from the normal wear and tear of work life unless a worker can establish that the triggering event was so extraordinary that it was not within the fair boundaries of the job requirements. Pennsylvania courts have described abnormal work conditions as "almost always an event that exposes a claimant to great physical danger." Courts also have found that shocking verbal reprimands and significant, frequent harassment can constitute abnormal work conditions.

In various cases decided by Pennsylvania courts, "normal" working conditions have been found to include a heavy workload and lack of secretarial help, a worker's being taken to task by his or her supervisor for poor workmanship, and events leading to a worker's losing his or her job due to modernization. Pennsylvania courts have observed that "psychic injury cases are highly fact-sensitive and for actual work conditions to be considered abnormal, they must be considered in the context of the specific employment." For example, normal work conditions for a police officer's ordinary day could be determined to be well beyond the bounds of normal work conditions for an office worker.

Generally, workers must notify their employers of any work-related injury within 120 days of when the worker realizes his or her injury is work related. A Pennsylvania office manager who had a heart attack several hours after a "heated exchange" at a meeting was unaware that a heart attack can be considered a work-related injury. The office manager did not file a workers' compensation claim until over 170 days after the heart attack. It was only after casually reviewing an employee handbook that the office manager realized that he might qualify for benefits. The Pennsylvania court ruled that since the worker filed his claim within the 120-day period after he actually discovered that a heart attack can be considered work related, his claim was allowed to proceed.

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.

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