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Ponca City Public Schools v. Ritcheson3/9/1993
The opinion of the court was delivered by: GARRETT, Judge.
Respondent Arleen Ritcheson (claimant) filed a Form 3-a, Claimant's First Notice of Death and Claim for Compensation , in the Workers' Compensation Court on July 25, 1989, after the death of her husband, Harold Vaughn Ritcheson, Deceased (Employee). She alleged his death, which occurred March 8, 1989, was the result of mental stress on his job with Petitioner Ponca City Public Schools (Employer). The cause of death is shown on the Form 3-a as "cardiorespiratory arrest". Employer filed a Form 2, Employers' First Notice of Injury, on August 10, 1989. It stated Employee suffered from a brain tumor or stroke, and that the working conditions were not a contributing factor to the stress he experienced due to a pending lawsuit. Employer alleged his death was not a result of his working relationship with Employer.
On January 22, 1992, the trial court entered an order awarding death, benefits, finding that on March 8, 1989, Employee "sustained an accidental personal injury (STROKE) arising out and in the course and scope of deceased's employment with the respondent, from and as a result of which the deceased died on MARCH 8, 1989". The court found his dependent heirs-at-law were Claimant and Michelle Fairchild, dependent step-child of the Deceased. The court awarded lump sum payments to each dependent and ordered Employer to pay continuing benefits.
Employer filed a Notice of Appeal to the Workers' Compensation Court En banc. On May 19, 1992, a three judge panel found the trial court's order was not against the clear weight of the evidence nor contrary to law, and sustained the order. One of the three judges on the panel dissented, stating: "I would allow the appointment of a third physician."
Three propositions of error are raised by Employer:
I. The findings of the trial court, affirmed by the court en banc, are not supported by any competent evidence, and such facts which were properly admitted at trial, when applied to the law of this State, do not support a work related injury resulting in death where the employee unreasonably and self-inducingly creates and sponsors the stress that brings about his eventual death;
II. The decision of the trial court, affirmed by the court en banc, rested on incompetent medical evidence made incompetent by the evaluating physician's failure to review and consider Employee's hospital records which revealed and supported causes of death other than job induced stress; and,
III. The trial court abused its discretion when it denied Employer's motion for the appointment of a substitute independent medical examiner (I.M.E.), after a determination by the court that the first I.M.E. had rendered himself incompetent to testify.
Employer contends that Employee suffered from self-induced and unreasonable stress, in that he unreasonably perceived Employer withdrew its support of him after a lawsuit was filed by a third party against Employer and Employee. Employer contends Employee worried himself to death about an event over which he had no control and that Employer should not be held accountable for his self-induced injury, arguably leading to his death. Employer cites Decker v. Oklahoma State University, 766 P.2d 1371 (Okl. 1988), wherein the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's conclusion the claimant did not suffer an accidental personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment. In Decker, supra, the Supreme Court held the evidence showed the claimant's supervisors and superiors knew of the on-the-job discord but did nothing about it and that the hear
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