March 14, 2014. In Bolles v. Midwest Sheet Metal Co., Inc., ___ N.W.2d ___, filed March 11, 2014. No. A-13-203, the Nebraska Court of Appeals ruled that a heart attacked suffered in the work place can be a work comp compensable claim. Often times employers assume such incidents are not compensable. In Bolles, the deceased employee had previously suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol. He was also a smoker and did not exercise. In ruling for the surviving spouse and thus granting her work comp surviving spousal benefits, the Court held that conditions in the workplace and the stressors placed upon the deceased employee triggered the heart attack. Medical opinion evidence offered at the time of trial, although conflicting, established that material and substantially contributing factors caused the heart attack, such as working in direct sunlight in high temperatures and high humidity. Employers, as work comp insureds, should never assume that a heart attack occurring at work is non-compensable. A full incident investigation should also be conducted when an employee suffers an accident or injury at work.
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