 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
KMart Corporation v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board3/22/2000
DECIDED: March 22, 2000
We granted allocatur in this case to address whether the Commonwealth Court erred in affirming the award of workers' compensation benefits to an off-duty employee who sustained a mental injury as a result of witnessing an attack upon a co-employee. For the following reasons, we reverse.
Appellee Shirley Fitzsimmons worked in stock and as a floor person at Appellant Kmart Corporation's Mt. Pocono store ("Kmart"). On January 10, 1992, appellee arrived at work for her regular 7:00 am to 4:00 pm shift. Around 1:00 pm, she punched out on the time clock in order to meet her husband for lunch. Although appellee was free to leave the premises, she and her husband decided to eat at the Eatery Express, a public restaurant located on Kmart's premises.
Appellee's co-worker, Angela Walker, also decided to take her lunch break at the Eatery Express. Mrs. Walker sat at a table next to appellee and appellee's husband. During lunch, Mrs. Walker's estranged husband entered the restaurant and attacked her with a knife. Appellee, her husband and other bystanders intervened and disarmed Mr. Walker. Appellee administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to Mrs. Walker until the paramedics arrived to stabilize Mrs. Walker's condition and transport her to the hospital.
Thereafter, appellee began experiencing nightmares. She stopped working at Kmart on February 18, 1992. At that time, she attributed her difficulties to medication she was taking for her back, rather than the stabbing incident. However, on June 15, 1992, she began treating with a psychiatrist who diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the incident on January 10, 1992. On September 22, 1992, appellee filed a petition for workers' compensation benefits, alleging that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of witnessing the attack.
Following hearings, the workers' compensation judge (WCJ) denied the petition. The WCJ accepted the testimony of appellee's treating physician that her psychological disorder was caused by the January 10, 1992 incident. WCJ Opin. at 5. The WCJ also characterized the incident as an abnormal working condition. However, the WCJ concluded that appellee was not injured in the course and scope of her employment because she failed to prove that she was actually engaged in the furtherance of the business or affairs of her employer, that her injury was caused by the condition of her employer's premises, or that her presence on the premises at the time of the injury was required by the nature of her employment. WCJ Opin. at 6.
The Workers' Compensation Appeal Board ("WCAB") reversed and remanded the case to the WCJ for an entry of an award of benefits. In its opinion, WCAB relied on Brind Leasing Corp. v. WCAB (Dougherty), 584 A.2d 1102 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1990), in which the Commonwealth Court held that an off-duty employee, who was fatally stabbed when he returned to his employer's premises to rescue the night supervisor from an attack, had suffered a compensable injury. The WCJ subsequently circulated an order on remand entering an award of benefits to appellee. Appellant petitioned the Commonwealth Court for review of WCAB's order. In a memorandum opinion, the Commonwealth Court affirmed WCAB's finding, reasoning that appellee was furthering her employer's business or affairs when she aided her co-worker. Appellant's Application for Reargument was denied; however, the Commonwealth Court granted reconsideration in order to amend a portion of its opinion.
Appellate review of a workers' compensation order is limited to determining whether constitutional rights have been violated, an error of law has oc
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pennsylvania Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|