Compensable standard for heart attacks at work reaffirmed.

After suffering a heart attack at work, the petitioner filed a claim seeking permanent disability benefits. In finding that the petitioner had met his burden of proof as to compensability, the Judge of Compensation relied on N.J.S.A. 34:15-7.2 and Hellwig v. J.F. Rast & Co., Inc., 110 N.J. 37 (1988), the relevant New Jersey Supreme Court decision demonstrating that provision’s application. In Hellwig, the New Jersey Supreme Court clarified N.J.S.A. 34:15-7.2 by holding that cases alleging cardiovascular injury or death require proof that the strain of the work effort that allegedly precipitated the worker’s disability or death from coronary disease was qualitatively more intense than the strain of the physical activity to which the worker was accustomed in his leisure time. The judge found that the petitioner had proven via medical expert testimony that he had sustained a level of permanent disability as a result of the damage to his heart that was caused by his cardiac episode at work.

_{Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2016}

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