92 Pa. Commw. 1 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1985
Opinion by
Alice Lamoreaux (Appellant), the widow of Harold Lamoreaux (Decedent), appeals from an order of the Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board (Board) which denied her claim for death benefits filed on behalf of her husband under Section 301(c)(1) of the Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act (Act), Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. §411(1).
Decedent was employed by Celotex Corporation (Employer) as an oven operator for approximately seven years. The temperature in which he worked averaged between 90 and 110 degrees, and his job required that about every four minutes he move a car loaded with baked tile and weighing about 1500 pounds
In order for a heart attack to be considered a compensable injury under the Act, a claimant must show a causal connection between his work and the attack. Haney v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 65 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 461, 442 A.2d 1223 (1982). When this causal connection is not obvious it must be established by unequivocal medical testimony. Id. And where, as hero, a claimant has failed to sustain his burden of proof before the referee and the Board, our scope of review is limited to ascertaining whether constitutional rights were violated, an error of law was committed, or competent evidence was capriciously disregarded. Killian v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 62 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 29, 434 A.2d 906 (1981).
Appellant argues that the testimony of Employer’s medical witness was incompetent because it was based upon inaccurate facts not of record. Specifically, she contends that there is no evidence to support Dr. Gold-stein’s theory that Decedent was suffering from preexisting coronary artery disease, and, therefore, the
In response to the hypothetical question asked by Employer’s counsel, Dr. Goldstein answered:
Well, I have to postulate that Mr. Lamoreaux was suffering with pre-existing coronary artery disease, presumably in an asymfomatic state— this, of course, is common phenomena — and ■that, by its natural progression over the years one of its relatively frequent complications ensued — that of sudden death. And that is my reason [ed] opinion as to what transpired in this particular situation. (Emphasis added.)
Counsel for the Claimant moved to strike this response from the record because the hypothetical did not include facts of record. We must agree that such facts were not of record and that Dr. Goldstein, by his own subsequent testimony, established that they were gleaned neither from medical records nor a medical history, but only from the fact of the Claimant’s massive heart attack itself. It is well settled that hypothetical questions must be based on matters which appear of record and on facts which are warranted by the evidence. Borough of Morrisville v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 54 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 41, 419 A.2d 813 (1980). Indeed, both the referee and the Board made an explicit finding of fact that there was no record of Decedent having prior ill health. While we recognize that the absence of a prior history of heart disease is not necessarily inconsistent with the fact of the disease, since Dr. Goldstein testified that 25-30 percent or more of people who have heart disease do not know they have it, we must
Section 301(c)(1) of the Act defines the term “injury” as “an injury to an employe, regardless of his previous physical condition, arising in the course of his employment and related thereto,” and further specifies that the term “ ‘injury arising in the course of his employment,’ . . . shall include all . . . injuries sustained while the employe is actually engaged in the furtherance of the business or affairs of the employer. .. .”
The question then was not whether Decedent did or did not have a pre-existing heart condition, but rather, whether the requisite causal connection existed between his injury and his employment, without regard to his previous physical condition. Keeping this in mind, we conclude that the medical testimony of Dr. Klem was unequivocal on the issue of causation. He stated, in part: “Based on reasonable medical certainty, it is my professional opinion that this man had an acute myocardial infarction, precipitated by the severity of his working conditions.”
For these reasons we reverse the decision of the Board.
Order
Now, September 16, 1985, the Order of the Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, No. A-82619, dated January 13, 1983, is hereby reversed.
The referee did not reject the testimony of Dr. Klein, or find that his testimony was not credible. In his discussion the referee stated specifically, “In view of all the circumstances pertaining to the decedent’s employment, and the manner of his death, your referee prefers the testimony of Defendant’s medical witness.”