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Couch v. City of Rainbow City12/17/2004
the trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of Amoco finding that Herchenhahn's alleged psychological impairment was not compensable under Alabama law. Herchenhahn appealed.
As an issue of first impression, this court addressed "whether mental or nervous disorders, including occupational stress disorder, which result from harassment experienced on the job , are compensable as occupational diseases under § 25-5-110(1), Ala. Code 1975." Herchenhahn, 688 So. 2d at 848. This court answered that question in the negative and held that Herchenhahn's claim for workers' compensation benefits on the basis of an occupational-stress disorder was not compensable as an occupational disease under Alabama law. In so holding, the court reasoned that there was "nothing peculiar about Herchenhahn's employment ... that made him more susceptible to harassment by a supervisor than he would have been in any other kind of employment." 688 So. 2d at 850. The court also noted that the harassment did not present a hazard peculiar to the working conditions of Herchenhahn's particular occupation. 688 So. 2d at 850.
Like the employee in Herchenhahn, Couch claimed that she suffered a nervous breakdown during the course of her employment that lead to an occupational-stress disorder. Couch attributed her nervous breakdown and PTSD to two specific incidents involving the death of a police officer and the suicide of another police officer. The vocational expert, Dr. McCroskey, testified that death or serious injury to a co-worker is possible in any job . After carefully reviewing the record and the evidence provided by Couch and the City, we cannot say that the death and injury of Couch's co-workers is "a hazard which is recognized as peculiar to the normal working conditions" of Couch's job as a police dispatcher. Therefore, a summary judgment was proper on Couch's claim for workers' compensation benefits under Article 4 of the Act.
AFFIRMED.
Yates, P.J., and Pittman, J., concur.
Crawley and Murdock, JJ., concur in the result, each with writing.
CRAWLEY, Judge, concurring in the result.
I concur in the result of the main opinion affirming the summary judgment entered in favor of the City of Rainbow City. To the extent that the affirmance relies on Herchenhahn v. Amoco Chemical Co., 688 So. 2d 847 (Ala. Civ. App. 1997), however, I disagree and would overrule that case.
Couch alleges that post-traumatic stress disorder and "occupational depression" are compensable injuries under the occupational-disease provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act, codified at Ala. Code 1975, § 25-5-110 et seq. Section 25-5-110(1) defines an occupational disease as:
"A disease arising out of and in the course of employment ... which is due to hazards in excess of those ordinarily incident to employment in general and is peculiar to the occupation in which the employee is engaged but without regard to negligence or fault, if any, of the employer. A disease, including, but not limited to, loss of hearing due to noise, shall be deemed an occupational disease only if caused by a hazard recognized as peculiar to a particular trade, process, occupation, or employment as a direct result of exposure, over a period of time, to the normal working conditions of the trade, process, occupation, or employment."
However, § 25-5-1 states:
"Throughout this chapter, the following words and phrases as used therein shall be considered to have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context shall clearly indicate a different meaning in the connection used:
"....
"(9) Injury. 'Injury and personal in
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