 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Murphy v. Industrial Commission5/2/1989
I. JURISDICTION
Helen Murphy, as guardian ad litem for her husband Kenneth Murphy, filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits. The employer's insurance carrier denied her claim. After a hearing, the administrative law judge agreed. Claimant appealed to the court of appeals, 157 Ariz. 493, 759 P.2d 639, (App.1988), which affirmed the administrative law judge. We granted claimant's petition for review. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Ariz. Const. art. 6, § 5(3), A.R.S. §§ 12-120.24, 23-948 and Ariz.R.Civ.App.P. 23, 17 A.R.S.
II. ISSUE
We must decide if a physical injury caused by the claimant's emotional response to being notified of his job displacement is an "accident arising out of and in the course of" the claimant's employment.
III. FACTS
For eleven years, Kenneth Murphy worked in the tool crib section of the respondent-employer, Honeywell. Murphy inventoried, repaired and distributed small tools. Before that, Murphy had worked in Honeywell's maintenance department for eight years. At the time of the accident, Murphy was 61 years old.
During the summer of 1985, Honeywell was forced to lay off many of its employees because of financial difficulties. The plant workers generally knew there would be layoffs. Murphy was concerned about the possibility of being laid off or transferred to a different department. He was also concerned about his financial situation and for approximately two months before the injury , he experienced trouble sleeping.
On 8 August 1985, Jim Enk, Murphy's supervisor, told Murphy that he would be transferred to the assembly crew. Enk also told Murphy that he would be receiving a one-third pay cut and that he would be working under a new manager, who was reputed to be difficult to work with. Murphy had never been trained to work as an assembler. Upon hearing this news, Murphy inquired about taking early retirement, but Enk told him that he still had a job . After Enk started to walk away, Murphy fell to the ground, striking his head on the tiled floor. Murphy has been in a coma since the accident and is expected to remain in a vegetative state permanently.
According to the expert testimony presented at the administrative hearing, Murphy suffered an epidural hematoma as a result of hitting his head on the tile floor. The administrative law judge adopted the testimony of G. Scott Tyler, M.D., and Paul Bindelglas, M.D., that Murphy fainted because of the emotional shock he suffered upon hearing the news of his displacement.
The administrative law judge held that A.R.S. § 23-1043.01(B) governed and denied the claim. That section provides that a mental injury , illness or condition is not compensable unless some unexpected, unusual or extraordinary stress related to the employment was a substantial contributing cause. The administrative law judge further ruled that even if Murphy suffered unexpected, unusual or extraordinary stress, he could not recover because the physical injury did not arise out of his employment.
The court of appeals affirmed the administrative law judge's award but on different grounds. First, the court of appeals held that A.R.S. § 23-1043.01(B) did not apply, but instead that the general statute A.R.S. § 23-1021 controlled. Second, the court of
appeals held that the same standard that applied in A.R.S. § 23-1043.01(B) cases also applied in this cas
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Arizona Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|