Nord v. City of Cook, C3-84-650

• Decision Date: 11 January 1985
• Docket Number: No. C3-84-650,C3-84-650
• Citation: 360 N.W.2d 337
• Parties: Leo William NORD, deceased, by Marion Nord, petitioner, Respondents, v. CITY OF COOK, d.b.a. Cook Community Hospital, Self-Insured, Relator, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Intervenor.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 337

360 N.W.2d 337

Leo William NORD, deceased, by Marion Nord, petitioner Respondents, v. CITY OF COOK, d.b.a. Cook Community Hospital, Self-Insured Relator and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Intervenor.

No. C3-84-650.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Jan. 11, 1985.

Syllabus by the Court

1. The Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) applied the correct standard of review by reviewing the findings of the compensation judge under the substantial evidence test.

2. The WCCA was correct in concluding that the compensation judge's findings were unsupported by substantial evidence, and the WCCA's substituted findings were supported by substantial evidence.

Richard L. Plagens, Minneapolis, for relator.

James P. Paciotti, Duluth, for Nord.

Indure S. Advani, St. Paul, for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of MN.

Considered and decided by the court en banc without oral argument.

AMDAHL, Chief Justice.

This action arose from a claim petition for dependency benefits filed by Marion Nord after her husband, Leo Nord, died of a heart attack on October 27, 1980. Compensation Judge James Otto found that the dependents had not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that Leo Nord's heart attack arose out of his employment or that his employment activities contributed to, aggravated, or accelerated his heart attack. The dependents appealed the compensation judge's decision to the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA). In a 2-1 decision, the WCCA reversed the findings of the compensation judge for lack of a substantial evidentiary basis. The WCCA then substituted for the findings of the compensation judge its own findings that the dependents had shown by a preponderance of the evidence that Leo Nord's heart attack both arose out of his employment and was significantly aggravated or accelerated by his employment. We must determine (1) whether the WCCA applied the correct standard of review in reviewing the findings of the compensation judge, and (2) whether the WCCA was correct in setting aside the findings of the compensation judge and substituting its own findings in their stead. We affirm.

Leo Nord began working for Cook Community Hospital in 1965 as a maintenance engineer. The job involved electrical work, plumbing, carpentry, mechanical repairs, and painting. Nord was responsible for maintaining the hospital grounds by mowing the lawn, trimming hedges, and shoveling snow. The hospital was subject to inspection by government agencies, and Nord was required to repair any cited deficiencies that involved plant maintenance. The compensation judge took judicial notice that some of these jobs require physical exertion.

Nord was assisted in his work by Robert Mueller, who was also a full-time employee of the hospital. The men worked together 3 days per week; only one of them worked the other 4 days. Nord and Mueller divided their workload as they wished, but if one was absent or on vacation, the other had to get all of the work done. The job required that one man be on call any time neither man was working. Nord took much more on-call duty than Mueller because he lived near the hospital and could get there faster than Mueller, who lived 30 miles away. Nord was frequently called to the hospital to check on something on his days off. When either Mueller or Nord was on vacation or sick leave, the other man worked consecutive days until his coworker returned.

Nord was known as a conscientious, dedicated worker. He was 65 years old when he died in 1980. He was an active man, was not overweight, and was in good health. Nord had not been under medical treatment for 10 years and had no history of high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease. None of his close relatives had any history of heart trouble. He had no family problems, financial worries, or domestic tensions in the half-year preceding his death.

In the fall of 1980, there were two time periods when Mueller was absent from work for several days. Mueller was on sick leave and hospitalized in late August and early September. During this time, Nord worked alone for 9 straight days. The hospital administrator offered Nord additional help while Mueller was sick, but Nord replied that since Mueller would soon return to work, it would be more difficult to train a new person than to do the work himself. Nord's wife testified that Nord came home tired during the time he worked 9 consecutive days. Nord had been planning a vacation, but deferred it when Mueller became ill. Mueller was absent from work for the second time in October 1980. Mueller took a vacation in the middle of the month, with the result that Nord was scheduled for 10 consecutive days of work, from October 18 to October 27.

When Nord worked over 6 consecutive days, there were usually days where the work overlapped with Mueller's workdays. The hospital administrator testified that, over the years, the maintenance men often worked several consecutive days and that 1980 was not different in this respect. Mueller testified that he had once worked 21 straight days alone. Nord's 1980 work pattern shows that, except for the two periods of Mueller's absence in the fall, whenever Nord worked 6 or more consecutive days, Mueller worked with Nord at least 3 days.

Nord worked alone 7 consecutive days, from October 18 to October 24, 1980. He was scheduled to work alone the 25th, 26th, and 27th as well. There is conflicting evidence on whether Nord worked at the hospital on Saturday, October 25, 1980. Mrs. Nord testified that Nord did work on that day. They ate breakfast together, and he left for work at 7:45 a.m. He returned home for lunch at noon and left for work again at 12:30 p.m. He arrived home for supper around 5 p.m. William Nord testified that he saw his father's car parked at the hospital when he drove into town at 10:30 a.m. He also saw his father's car parked by the hospital loading zone and boilerroom when he again traveled into town at 2:30 p.m. The hospital introduced a copy of Nord's timecard from that week signed by Nord which had no time filled in on Saturday, October 25. Nord's timecard for Sunday, October 26, was also not filled in by Nord; it was, however, filled in by a hospital administrator. There is no dispute Nord worked on Sunday. The hospital administrator said that employees get their timecards ahead of time and can fill them out or sign them anytime during the pay period. The timecard is the only documentary record of when a hospital employee has worked; Nord was not required to sign in, punch in, or report to anyone when arriving at work.

In the week prior to his death, Nord told his wife that his work was "getting to him." Nord's wife testified that when Nord came home from work on Saturday, he said that he had had a hard day and was tired. He fell asleep in his chair after supper with the paper over his head. He then went to bed and slept until 9 p.m., woke up, visited with his wife for a while, and then went to sleep again at 11 p.m. His wife and son testified that he did not appear to be sick or in pain and had no apparent difficulty sleeping that night.

Nord awoke at 7 a.m. on Sunday, October 26, had breakfast, and went to work at 7:45 a.m. He did not look sick or ill and did not complain of a poor night's sleep. He returned home at 12:30 p.m., ate his usual dinner, looked at the paper, and returned to work at 1:30 or 2 p.m. Again, he did not look any different to his wife. A registered nurse, Ms. Ryan, who reported for work at 4 p.m. that Sunday, testified that shortly after she arrived at work, Nord came into the nurses' lounge, said he was ill, and asked for help. The nurses present put him into a wheelchair and took him to the emergency room. He told Ryan in the emergency room that he had felt ill earlier and had sat down until he felt better.

Nord was transferred to the Virginia Regional Medical Center later that day, and the admitting physician reported that--

Mr. Nord is a 65-year-old maintenance man at Cook Hospital. He states that he began experiencing some ill defined chest discomfort yesterday, then at work today during the course of his customary duties with exersion [sic], he developed a dull pain in his chest which radiated to his back and especially between his shoulder blades and also experienced some pain in his jaws. He noted that this pain was exacerbated whenever he [did] any sort of work and [then] resolved after 5-10 minutes of rest. He continued doing his customary duties at work until an episode of chest pain which was associated with severe cold diaphoresis [sweating]. He also states that there was some mild nausea associated with this, but no shortness of breath or cough. He presented to the nurses station at the Cook Hospital and was evaluated by a Dr. Johnston at that hospital.

* * *

He denies any significant past medical history or symptoms of angina in the past except within the last 24 hour period.

Mr. Nord was suffering from acute anterior myocardial infarction, caused by coronary artery disease. As coronary arteries narrow over the years, the heart must work harder to deliver a sufficient supply of blood to the heart muscle. When the demand for blood exceeds the ability of the arteries to...