Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Ferrell v. City of Wilmington

The May 2025 What’s Hot highlighted Ferrell v. City of Wilmington, 2025 WL 753378 (Del. Super Ct. Mar. 10, 2025), which addressed two incidents involving one injury, and a recurrence versus aggravation.

In 2015, the claimant sustained a compensable back injury while working for Belvedere Fire Company. He received treatment, had diagnostic studies, and was assessed with a 10% permanent impairment of the thoracic spine by his medical expert in 2016. In 2018, the claimant agreed to the commutation of his 2015 claim.

On October 6, 2023, the claimant was working for the City of Wilmington Fire Company when he responded to a call that required him to climb a staircase laden with a significant amount of heavy equipment. While climbing the stairs, he became short of breath and experienced chest pains. Back at the station, he felt back pain and spasms. While it was determined that he had not had a cardiac event, he continued to have back pain, for which he received diagnostic testing and treatment.

The claimant filed a petition with the Industrial Accident Board (IAB) for benefits allegedly related to the recent work injury. After a hearing, the board held that the claimant failed to sustain his burden of proving that the October 6, 2023, incident caused a new injury. Instead, the board found that the condition the claimant experienced was a recurrence of the 2015 work injury.

The Superior Court discussed the difference between “aggravation” and “recurrence,” stating that aggravation is a change in the mechanics of the condition, such that the condition is different than before. Whereas, if the previous condition has not changed as a result of the workplace incident, it is not a compensable work accident.

The Superior Court went on to discuss the aggravation/recurrence framework set out in Standard Distribution Co. v. Nally, 630 A.2d 640 (Del. 1993) and the need for an intervening or untoward event to break the chain of causation from the preexisting condition. It also discussed the medical evidence, including the diagnostic studies, as support for its determination that there is substantial evidence in the record to support the board’s factual findings and affirm the decision that the 2023 incident was a recurrence of the 2015 injury, not a new injury.

The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court decision in Ferrell v. City of Wilmington, No. 152, 2025, 2025 WL 3481507 (Del. Dec. 4, 2025).

_{What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 30, No. 2, February 2026 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2026 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact MEDeSatnick@mdwcg.com.}