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Robertson v. North Dakota Workers Compensation Bureau9/5/2000
. Bales, 810 P.2d 1346, 1348 (Or. Ct. App. 1991). Robertson testified he was not required to take a pre-employment physical examination for any of his jobs in law enforcement. Although a pre-employment physical examination for the explicit purpose of documenting a law enforcement officer's medical condition would remove any doubt about the officer's condition, the purpose of the examination is satisfied if adequate medical records contemporaneous with the commencement of employment fail to reveal the medical condition. See Courtney, at 296; Worden, at 695; Linnell, at 601. This record includes adequate medical documentation about Robertson's condition before he began working in law enforcement, and we conclude that documentation satisfies the requirement for a preemployment physical examination.
D.
[ ] Robertson argues his medical records before his employment in law enforcement in 1982 fail to reveal any evidence of heart disease. The Bureau argues Robertson's medical records show evidence of heart-related problems, and he therefore cannot show he successfully passed a physical examination which failed to reveal any evidence of a heart disease.
[ ] The Bureau relies on a February 1980 notation in Robertson's medical records about "labile hypertension"; a January 20, 1981 notation of 142/98 blood pressure, which the Bureau characterizes as "elevated"; and an October 10, 1982 notation that Robertson previously had an incident of elevated blood pressure.
[ ] The Bureau's reliance on those records to show Robertson had not successfully passed a physical examination which failed to reveal any evidence of a heart disease is misplaced. The February 1980 notation about "labile hypertension," when read as a whole, is not a diagnosis; rather, the notation is on Robertson's "request for physical examination" for disability benefits related to his prior military service. In that document, Robertson was required to "list diagnoses or symptoms for which examination is requested," and the document listed "acute gouty arthritis" and "labile hypertension." However, the "report of medical examination" actually diagnosed "hypertension - not found." The January 1981 notation about a blood pressure reading of 142/98 is not, by itself, sufficient to establish Robertson had not successfully passed a physical examination. Robertson's medical records include a March 28, 1980 blood pressure reading of 130/88, a May 30, 1980 reading of 125/75, a November 5, 1980 reading of 124/90, a January 20, 1981 reading of 142/98, an April 13, 1981 reading of 120/82, a June 22, 1981 reading of 140/90, a December 16, 1981 reading of 128/84, and an October 18, 1982 reading of 120/80 with a notation of "one episode of {up arrow} B.P. No meds." The October 1982 notation was after Robertson had begun working in law enforcement in March 1982. The January 1981 blood pressure reading was during a time when Robertson was being treated for a cyst on his neck. He had the cyst surgically removed in April 1981, and his contemporaneous medical records reveal his "examination was within normal limits[,] EKG was negative[,] hest was negative, and all laboratory studies were within normal limits."
[ ] Robertson's fluctuating blood pressure readings before March 1982 are not evidence of heart disease. On this record, Robertson's medical records before he began working in law enforcement in March 1982 do not reveal evidence of heart disease, and he was entitled to the benefits of the presumption.
VI.
[ ] Robertson argues the Bureau failed to rebut the presumption his heart condition was suffered in the line of duty. The Bureau argues it rebutted the presumption, because the greater w
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