| JCC Anthony (Tampa) (Rex Hurley) (4-26-24) – Denied indemnity benefits, medical benefits and compensability. The claimant worked as a patrol sergeant for the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. On April 26, 2023, he was on duty on the treadmill in the department gym when he felt a burning sensation in his chest. He also felt pain the following day at work while helping to unload metal poles. On April 28, 2023, he woke up, got out of bed and felt the same burning sensation. He went to the hospital and underwent cardiac catheterization. He underwent open-heart surgery on May 1, 2023. Another heart catheterization was performed two weeks later. The claimant was a cigarette smoker with a 20-year history up until the day he went to the hospital. He had prior cholesterol problems. Dr. Amish Parikh performed an IME for the E/C. He opined that, more likely than not, the claimant’s risk factors banded together to cause his development of heart disease and the need for the coronary artery bypass graft and stenting. Dr. David Perloff performed a records review IME for the claimant. He felt that the claimant’s risk factors were well controlled and there was no objective test to tell him what caused the claimant’s CAD or what triggered his chest pain. He testified that someone could have every risk factor for CAD and never develop it, just as someone with no risk factors could still develop it. Dr. Leonard Pianki was appointed as the EMA. Dr. Pianki opined that the claimant’s non-occupational risk factors were the major factors that lead to the accelerated atherosclerotic heart disease needing a bypass, and subsequently closure of them within a week, causing him to require stenting. He found that the trigger for all dates of accident was his own inherent risk factors and accelerated CAD and not work-related. The JCC found that the E/C rebutted the presumption with clear and convincing evidence by demonstrating there was no occupational cause for the CAD and heart attack. Therefore, all benefits were denied. Click here to view Order |