Summary 2013 WY 116

Summary of Decision 30, 2013

Justice Voigt delivered the opinion for the Court. Affirmed.

Case Name: IN THE MATTER OF THE WORKER’S COMPENSATION CLAIM OF: ANITA J. FIESELER v. STATE OF WYOMING ex rel. WYOMING WORKERS’ SAFETY AND COMPENSATION DIVISION

Docket Number: S-13-0047

URL: http://www.courts.state.wy.us/Opinions.aspx

Appeal from the District Court of Fremont County The Honorable Norman E. Young, Judge

Representing Appellant: Frank B. Watkins of Frank B. Watkins, P.C., Riverton, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee: Gregory A. Phillips, Wyoming Attorney General; John D. Rossetti, Deputy Attorney General; Michael J. Finn, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Kelly Roseberry, Assistant Attorney General.

Date of Decision: September 30, 2013

Facts: The appellant suffered a heart attack while working as a medical/surgical charge nurse at Lander Regional Hospital. She applied for benefits with the Wyoming Workers’ Safety and Compensation Division (Division), but the claim was denied. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the Division’s denial of benefits, concluding the appellant did not satisfy her burden set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-603(b) (LexisNexis 2013). Specifically, it found the appellant failed to prove her myocardial infarction was caused by exertion clearly unusual or abnormal to her particular employment at the Hospital.[1] The appellant sought review of the OAH’s decision and the district court affirmed. On appeal to this Court, the appellant claims the OAH misinterpreted the statute governing coronary conditions when it required the appellant to prove that her duties precipitating the heart attack were unusual or abnormal for her position at the Hospital, rather than unusual or abnormal in the nursing profession generally.

Issues: Did the OAH err as a matter of law when it interpreted Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-603(b)(ii) to require that the causative exertion be unusual or abnormal for a medical/surgical unit charge nurse at the appellant’s specific place of employment, rather than being unusual or abnormal for a medical/surgical unit charge nurse in the nursing profession generally?

Holdings: The OAH correctly interpreted and applied Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27-14-603(b)(ii). The appellant was required to prove that the causative exertion be abnormal or unusual for a medical/surgical unit charge nurse at the Hospital. Affirmed.

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court

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