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Kawakami v. City and County of Honolulu12/24/2002
BR>
In this case, it is apparent that the City and County of Honolulu Board of Water Supply (Employer) maintained a mandatory policy of assigning trucks to certain employees and requiring those employees to return the truck at the end of the day. It is undisputed that Claimant was injured while he was in his assigned vehicle and claimed he was returning it to work; hence, the presumption was implicated.
I.
A.
In Chung v. Animal Clinic, Inc., 63 Haw. 642, 636 P.2d 721 (1981), this court explained that "HRS § 386-85(1) creates a presumption in favor of the claimant that the subject injury is causally related to the employment activity." Id. at 650, 636 P.2d at 727. In addition, this court recognized the "liberal, unitary concept of work-connection" for determining whether an injury was work-related. Id. at 648, 636 P.2d at 725. The unitary test requires "the finding of a causal connection between the injury and any incidents or conditions of employment." Id. (emphasis added). The extent to which that connection will be drawn was exemplified in Chung. In that case, this court found a causal connection between high-stress conditions at work and a heart attack, even though the heart attack occurred after work and while the claimant was jogging and not engaged in any employment activity. See id. at 652, 636 P.2d at 727.
Accordingly, the presumption in HRS § 386-85(1) "imposes upon the employer both the heavy burden of persuasion and the burden of going forward with the evidence." Id. (citing Akamine v. Hawaiian Packing & Crating Co., 53 Haw. 406, 408, 495 P.2d 1164, 1166 (1972)). To the extent the presumption imposes a "heavy burden of persuasion[,]" id. at 650, 636 P.2d at 726, upon the employer, the presumption itself is enough to establish prima facie evidence of the causal relationship. The Board must determine "whether evidence adduced by the employer is substantial[.]" Acoustic, Insulation & Drywall, Inc. v. Labor & Indus. Relations Appeal Bd., 51 Haw. 312, 317, 459 P.2d 541, 544 (1969). "The term 'substantial evidence' signifies a high quantum of evidence which, at the minimum, must be 'relevant and credible evidence of a quality and quantity sufficient to justify a conclusion by a reasonable [person] that an injury or death is not work connected.'" Chung, 63 Haw. at 650, 636 P.2d at 727 (quoting Akamine, 53 Haw. at 408-09, 495 P.2d at 1166). In the absence of substantial evidence, "the claimant must prevail[.]" Id. at 650, 636 P.2d at 726.
B.
Applying the the statutory presumption, it is arguable that Claimant's injuries were compensable. This case is analogous to Corden v. Paschoal's Ltd., 52 Haw. 242, 473 P.2d 561 (1970). The employee in Corden was responsible for driving small rental cars to Kahului, where he lived, and exchanging them for larger cars to be driven back to work in Lahaina. See id. at 243, 473 P.2d at 562. After work one night, the employee picked up his girlfriend and went out to dinner and "to several nightclubs to drink and dance." Id. Around midnight, he began his trip back to Kahului. See id. He was later "discovered unconscious at the bottom of a cliff next to the wrecked ." Id.
In Corden, this court expressly held that "as soon as [the decedent] undertook [a business related trip], it was then and there that he commenced to perform his duties as an employee" and that " hatever the decedent did prior to starting this trip towards [the destination] is immaterial on this issue and it may be deemed that it was his personal business or doings." Id. at 245, 473 P.2d at 563. This court acknowledged the deviation doctrine, such as that raised in this case, see id. ("some courts have held
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