CRB Case Annotations re: Section 29-4a
Death and disability compensation for certain state employees.
Fuessenich v. Dept. of Public Safety/State Police, 4416 CRB-1-01-7 (June 21, 2002).
Claimant passed pre-employment physical without any mention of hypertension in report, and trier was unpersuaded by doctor’s opinion that 135/90 blood pressure reading, high cholesterol level and height-weight ratio indicated that there was evidence of hypertension at that time. CRB affirmed trier’s finding that rebuttable presumption of compensability remained intact, as a doctor’s report cannot qualify as “evidence” to rebut said presumption unless trier affords it some credence. CRB also noted its doubt that current notions of acceptable blood pressure and cholesterol reading should be used to second-guess the opinion of the doctor who performed a pre-employment examination 20 years earlier. See, Fuessenich, §
31-307, § 31-308(b).
