C & D Production Services, Zurich North America v. Director, Office of Worker’s Compensation
Petitioner, C & D Production Services (Employer) and Zurich of North America petitioned to this Court, for review of a final order of the Benefits Review Board, awarding benefits to the widow of John D. Campbell.
John D. Campbell, deceased, was working within the scope of his employment for C & D on an offshore platform, when he suffered a heart attack and died as a result.
The deceased’s widow filed a claim, and was awarded, death benefits, under the Longshore Harbor Workers Compensation Act, LHWCA. The BRB affirmed the ALJ’s decision and petitioners petitioned this Court for review.
Did the BRB err in determining that the deceased’s widow was entitled to death benefits under the LHWCA?
First, the Petitioners contended that the Board erred in concluding that the deceased’s widow properly established the burden of proving that working conditions existed that could have caused or accelerated the heart attack.
However, citing Gooden v. Director, Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs (135 F.3d 1066), this Court stated that a heart attack suffered in the course and scope of employment is compensable even though the employee may have suffered from a related preexisting condition.
Additionally, this Court noted (per Southern Stevedoring Co. v. Henderson (175 F.2d 863), that in a case of a heart attack, the injury/accident “arises out of the employment when the required exertion producing the injury is too great for the man undertaking the work, and the source of the producing injury need not be eternal”.
This Court found that because Campbell’s work on the platform included traveling up and down hundreds of feet of stairs, and expert testimony established the requisite causation between the activity and his heart attack, that was sufficient in showing that his heart attack was caused (or aggravated) by the scope of his employment.
Additionally, Petitioners argued that the attorney’s fee award was erroneous. First, that $250.00/hour was unreasonable based upon customary rates in the geographic area. This Court however, found that the Board did not abused its discretion in setting this rate despite a showing of two previous administrative decisions found that $175.00/hr was the reasonable rate.
Additionally, this Court found that the petitioners failed to show that the time billed was not an accurate reflection of the time actually expended despite disfavoring the use of quarter-hour billing period (which were employed in this action).
Accordingly, this Court found that the BRB’s decision to award the deceased’s widow death benefits under the LHWCA was not an abuse of discretion, nor was the determination of attorney’s fees.
The Court here found that the deceased’s injury, heart attack, was precipitated by the climbing of over two-hundred feet of stairs.
No finding of negligence was necessary, all the deceased’s widow had to establish was whether the deceased died (1) in the course of employment or was (2) caused, aggravated, or accelerated by the conditions at the work place.
Steve Gordon
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