Analysis of Experience in Workmen's Compensation for Heart Cases

ALTHOUGH heart disease was not within the purview of the original Workmen's Compensation laws, it has become an important cause of claims under Workmen's Compensation statutes. These statutes are usually rather specific as to the definition of noncardiac "injuries," since most occurrences at work are clearly defined as to nature and time, and also as to the effects of fractures, lacerations, and other conditions on the workman. The genesis of most heart attacks is related to factors which are still obscure, but there has been a tendency to relate them to work because of the close temporal relationship of the two in some cases. The heart attack constitutes a major industrial compensation problem because death or prolonged disability is a not uncommon result and both are often regarded as work related. Resulting compensation awards have been detrimental to cardiac patients who are job applicants by creating among employers a fear of penalty under industrial insurance should these individuals have heart attacks at work. Much concern, discussion, and misunderstanding about this situation is shared by physicians, insurance personnel, workmen, and employers. Despite the abundance of discussion, relatively little factual information is available. The study, "Heart Disease Claims under the California Workmen's Compensation Act,"' by Beard and associates is the only published review of a state's experience, although there are reports on selected