Summary 2010 WY 161

Summary of Decision December 10, 2010

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Case Name: Wheeler v. State, ex rel., Wyoming Workers’ Safety and Comp. Div.

Citation: 2010 WY 161

Docket Number: S-10-0041

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2fo2u7r

Appeal from the District Court of Uinta County, The Honorable Dennis L. Sanderson, Judge

Representing Appellant (Petitioner): Michael D. Newman, Hampton & Newman, L.C., Rock Springs, Wyoming; Donna D. Domonkos, Cheyenne, Wyoming; George Santini, Ross, Ross & Santini, LLC, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee (Respondent): Bruce A. Salzburg, Wyoming Attorney General; John W. Renneisen, Deputy Attorney General; James Michael Causey, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Kelly Roseberry, Assistant Attorney General.

Date of Decision: December 10, 2010

Facts: Petitioner developed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) after two of his fellow volunteer firefighters died in an explosion. He appealed from the district court’s order affirming the Office of Administrative Hearing’s (OAH) denial of worker’s compensation benefits for treatment of his PTSD and MDD.

Issues: Issue I – Whether the overwhelming weight of the evidence is that post traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder are caused by physical changes in the human organism and meet the definition of injury in Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-102(a)(xi); Issue II – Whether the hearing examiner’s decision was arbitrary and capricious and otherwise not in accordance with the law; Issue III – Whether Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-102[(a)](xi)(J) is unconstitutional as it is vague, undefined and inapplicable to the claimant’s condition and fails to apply the constitutional provision of Article 10 Section 4 of the Wyoming Constitution.

Holdings: Petitioner was not claiming that his PTSD and MDD were caused by the smoke inhalation or burn injuries he suffered in the fire. Instead, he argued that PTSD and MDD are, themselves, physical injuries and therefore compensable under the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Act. Based upon the statutory language which clearly differentiates between mental and physical injuries, the fact that the legislature made a specific change in 1994 to exclude mental injuries that were not caused by compensable physical injuries and Wyoming case law interpreting the statute, the Court concluded that the requisite “physical injury” must be something outside of the biological changes in the brain associated with mental disorders. The record contains substantial evidence to support the hearing examiner’s conclusion that Petitioner’s PTSD and MDD were mental injuries rather than physical injuries under § 27-14-102(a)(xi)(J). The hearing examiner properly concluded that Petitioner’s mental injuries were not compensable under Wyoming law. The Court declined to determine whether Wyoming’s statute allows compensation for mental injuries caused by a compensable physical injury to another person because, even if it does, the Petitioner had already received all the benefits to which he would be entitled. And, because Wyoming case law prohibits consideration of the constitutionality of a statute in an administrative appeal, the Court declined to address that issue as well. Affirmed.

Chief Justice Kite delivered the opinion for the court.