Bosler v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board2/21/2002
Submitted: January 11, 2002
OPINION NOT REPORTED
Kristine Bosler petitions for review of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Board) order affirming a workers' compensation judge's (WCJ) denial of her claim petition for failing to prove that abnormal working conditions at her job caused her to sustain psychological injuries that prevented her from working.
On March 22, 1995, Bosler filed a claim petition alleging that on March 1, 1995, during the course and scope of her employment as a personal care assistant (PCA) at Pinebrook Personal Care (Employer), she sustained an injury described as acute mental depression as a result of stress at work. The claim petition was later amended to include subsequent events. Employer denied the allegations of Bosler's claim.
The following factual events leading to this appeal were set forth as part of the WCJ's findings of fact. Bosler worked for Employer since March 1994 as a PCA, which position entailed giving out medication to residents, helping residents get dressed for bed, doing laundry, and distributing snacks. No specific training for the position was required other than knowing how to check blood pressure, pulse, and breathing. On March 1, 1995, Bosler was on duty along with Cassie Shearn, another PCA who discovered a resident lying on the floor of her room in a pool of blood while having difficulty breathing. Bosler directed Shearn to call 911, collected the transfer papers to send to the hospital, and waited for the ambulance. After the resident was taken to the hospital, Shearn received a phone call that the wrong papers had been sent. Shearn telephoned the hospital to clarify any confusion, while Bosler continued performing her customary work duties.
Bosler's supervisor, Sharon Haley, telephoned several times after the ambulance left and spoke to Shearn and to Bosler, to whom she remarked, "something to the effect of, 'Are you happy now that you almost killed Mrs. Crommis?'"[Finding of Fact (i).] Bosler's mother testified that when she picked up her daughter after work that day, Bosler was crying and shaking. Bosler remained upset at her subsequent meeting with Haley during which the latter allegedly told Bosler that as a result of her mistake, the Employer could lose its license and Bosler could lose her job. Thereafter, Bosler consulted with her family doctor, who prescribed a tranquilizer for her and recommended a week off from work. Haley, however, advised Bosler that she could not take a week off from work because Employer was understaffed. The following week, Bosler, accompanied by her mother, attended a meeting with Haley, who stated that she viewed Bosler as a "danger to the residents," and advised her to voluntarily take a leave of absence and collect unemployment. Upon again consulting with her physician shortly thereafter, Bosler was diagnosed as suffering from acute mental depression.
At the hearings before the WCJ, Bosler presented the June 8, 1998 deposition testimony of Thomas E. Kreider, M.D., board-certified in psychiatry and neurology, who first saw Bosler on March 4, 1996, obtained a history, and performed a mental status examination. Dr. Kreider concluded that, in addition to evincing dependent personality characteristics, Bosler suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the trauma she experienced in her job with Employer on March 1, 1995. (Kreider deposition, 6/8/98, pp. 8-9.) Bosler was prescribed prozac. On November 19, 1997, Kreider reevaluated Bosler and again diagnosed her with dependent personality traits, along with significant depression relating to her initial work-related trauma of March 1, 1995.
Employer submitted the testimony o
Page 1 2 3 Pennsylvania Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|