Daneker v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board8/3/2000
positions at work was a "raw deal" and that friction had developed between Claimant and her co-workers. In addition, Dr. Berger indicated that Claimant developed anxiety, depression, stomach problems, sleeplessness, crying spells, loss of appetite, nervousness, jitters, irritability, a decreased frustration tolerance with inappropriate anger, and a general sense of sadness and isolation at the time Claimant was having disciplinary problems at work. Ultimately, Dr. Berger opined that Claimant's gastrointestinal complaints were "secondary" to her anxiety. Regarding Claimant's anxiety, Dr. Berger stated that, "'there can be a causal relationship between her employment at White Haven Center and her present symptomatology ... ... I found it difficult to evaluate whether her employment or her job description was unusual or abnormal.'" (WCJ's Decision, Finding of Fact No. 10.)
Finally, Claimant presented the testimony of her treating psychiatrist, Dr. Fischbein. Dr. Fischbein agreed with Dr. Berger that Claimant suffers from anxiety, depression and a phobia regarding White Haven Center. Dr. Fischbein opined that because of Claimant's psychiatric problems she is unable to return to work. In addition, he noted that Claimant's gastrointestinal problems occurred after her difficulties at work began and are "interrelated" with her psychiatric problems. Employer did not present any medical evidence in opposition to Claimant's claim petition.
By a decision and order circulated on January 12, 1996, the WCJ denied Claimant's claim petition, concluding that Claimant's claim was a mental/mental case, as distinguished from a mental/physical case, and that Claimant was therefore required to establish that she was subjected to abnormal working conditions. In reaching this conclusion, the WCJ, citing our decision in Whiteside v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board (Unisys Corporation), 650 A.2d 1202 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1994), petition for allowance of appeal denied, 544 Pa. 650, 664 A.2d 978 (1995), ruled that the medical evidence submitted by Claimant established that she was exposed to mental stimuli that caused anxiety and depression, and it was her mental injury that prevented her from returning to work. In deciding that this matter involved a mental/mental injury, the WCJ concluded that Claimant failed to prove that she was subjected to abnormal working conditions, especially in light of today's volatile employment environment, where the factors to which Claimant was exposed are becoming more and more common.
Claimant appealed to the Board, asserting that she suffered a mental/physical injury, and, thus, the WCJ applied the wrong burden of proof to her case. The Board affirmed the WCJ's decision, stating that for there to be a mental/physical injury, under Whiteside, the mental stimulus must "result in a distinct and identifiable physical injury that limits the claimant's ability to work." (Board's Decision, p. 3.) The Board therefore concluded that, since Claimant's medical evidence did not unequivocally establish that she suffers from a separate and distinct physical injury apart from her anxiety and depression, it was not error for the WCJ to determine that Claimant's claim was mental/mental in nature, and in finding that Claimant failed to prove abnormal working conditions. This appeal followed.
On appeal to this Court, Claimant maintains that the Board and WCJ erred by determining that her claim was mental/mental in nature, rather than a mental/physical claim. Claimant argues that the Board erroneously relied on this Court's decision in Old Republic Insurance Company v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Mascolo), 726 A.2d 444 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999), in affirming the WCJ, rather than on
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