Heart Attack Claim Held Up in New Jersey Workers' Compensation Court

The claimant contended in her dependency claim that strenuous
work and very warm temperatures led to her husband's heart attack and death.
Respondent argued that the decedent's prior hypertension, high
cholesterol and diabetes caused his heart attack and asserted that he would have had
the heart attack anyway. The legal issue centered on whether the work effort which
decedent engaged in was material and led to the decedent s heart attack.
The judge of compensation ruled for petitioner and held that the overtime work
contributed in a material way to the death. The Appellate Division
affirmed after reviewing the terms of N.J.S.A. 34:15-7.2 That provision puts emphasis on
proof of work effort in excess of the claimant's daily living. In other words, there is a
comparison made between the extent of exertion in one's normal life with the extent of
exertion on the date of injury.  The court found that petitioners work effort on March 11, 2006 constituted a material worsening of his heart problems. In short, there was sufficient credible evidence in the
record, considering the proofs as a whole, to conclude that the work effort
contributed materially to the heart attack.

Reading v. Glen Gary Shale and Brick Company, A-1525-09T3 (App. Div. October 22, 2010)

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