Argued
May 20, 2019
Appeal
from the decision of the Workers' Compensation
Commissioner for the Seventh District finding that the
plaintiff had sustained a compensable injury and awarding,
inter alia, disability benefits; thereafter, the commissioner
denied the defendants' motion to correct; subsequently,
the defendants appealed to the Compensation Review Board,
which affirmed the commissioner's decision, and the
defendants appealed to this court. Affirmed.
Scott
Wilson Williams, Fairfield, for the appellants (defendants).
David
J. Morrissey, Naugatuck, for the appellee (plaintiff).
DiPentima,
C.J., and Lavine and Prescott, Js.
OPINION
PER
CURIAM.
Page 1178
[191
Conn.App. 164] The defendants, the Stamford Police Department
(police department), and PMA Management Corporation of New
England, the workers compensation liability insurer for the
police department, appeal from the decision of the
Compensation Review Board (board) affirming the finding and
award (award) of the Workers Compensation Commissioner for
the Seventh District (commissioner) with respect to the claim
filed by the plaintiff, Thomas McGinty, under General
Statutes § 7-433c,[1] commonly referred to as the Heart and
Hypertension Act.[2] On appeal, the defendants [191
Conn.App. 165] principally claim that the board improperly
affirmed the commissioners award concluding that the
plaintiff had suffered from compensable heart disease. Before
the commissioner and on appeal, the defendants have argued
that the plaintiffs condition, arterial sclerosis, is not a
disease unique to the heart, but a systemic condition, and
is, therefore, not compensable heart disease. We affirm the
decision of the board.
In her
May 24, 2017 award, the commissioner made the following
findings of fact, which are relevant to our resolution of
this appeal. The plaintiff was employed as a police officer
from January 8, 1990 through April 15, 2011, when he retired
with a service related disability pension due to injuries he
sustained during the course of his employment.[3] The plaintiff
passed a preemployment physical that did not reveal evidence
of hypertension or heart disease. The plaintiff struggled to
control his weight and high cholesterol. In 2007, he
experienced left leg pain due to a blockage of his iliac
artery, which was treated twice by angioplasty. The plaintiff
was diagnosed with peripheral vascular disease. An
electrocardiogram and nuclear stress test were negative for
heart disease at that time.
In
2009, the plaintiff experienced shortness of breath and chest
pain. The results of a stress test performed on April 2,
2009, were positive and, when compared with the prior study,
revealed a new "defect." The plaintiff was
diagnosed with coronary artery disease and hypertension, and
medication was prescribed for the conditions. On April 24,
2009, the plaintiff underwent cardiac catheterization that
revealed two vessel coronary artery disease. The plaintiff
was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation on November 19, 2009,
and he underwent an ablation on February 16, 2010. A cardiac
Page 1179
catheterization performed on September 14, 2011, showed [191
Conn.App. 166] progression of the plaintiffs coronary artery
disease, and he underwent bypass surgery in December, 2011.
On May
27, 2009, the plaintiff filed a form 30C[4] claiming that he was
entitled to benefits under § 7-433c as a result of
hypertension and heart disease. On May 11, 2009, the police
department timely filed a form 43 contesting the claim and
also filed a supplemental form 43 on June 2,
2009.[5]
Joseph
R. Anthony, a cardiologist, examined the plaintiff on
September 3, 2010. Anthony reported that the plaintiff had
both coronary heart disease and hypertension. On July 15,
2014, Anthony gave the plaintiff a 24 percent disability
impairment due to his hypertensive cardiovascular disease and
a 26 percent disability impairment for his coronary heart
disease. The combined rating was 44 percent. Anthony ...