Panyko v. W.C.A.B. (U.S.Airways)

• Decision Date: 28 December 2005
• Citation: 888 A.2d 724
• Parties: Russell T. PANYKO, Appellant v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEAL BOARD (U.S.AIRWAYS), Appellees.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

888 A.2d 724

Russell T. PANYKO, Appellant v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEAL BOARD (U.S.AIRWAYS), Appellees.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued March 7, 2005.

Decided December 28, 2005.

Sandra Weigel Kokal, James R. Burn, Pittsburgh, for Russell T. Panyko.

Lawrence R. Chaban, for Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.

James A. Holzman, Amber Marie Lengler, Richard C. Lengler, Harrisburg, for Workers' Compensation Appeal Board.

Kimberly Anne Zabroski, Pittsburg, for US Airways.

Before CAPPY, CJ., NIGRO, NEWMAN, SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Justice NIGRO.

Appellant Russell T. Panyko ("Claimant") appeals from the Commonwealth Court's order which affirmed the order of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (the "Board") denying Claimant's claim petition. We now reverse.

On November 17, 1997, Claimant filed a claim petition seeking various benefits for a heart attack he suffered on February 5, 1997, during a meeting with one of his supervisors.¹ Claimant's employer, U.S. Airways, filed an answer to the petition, in which it denied that Claimant's heart attack was "work-related."

During a hearing before a workers' compensation judge ("WCJ") on January 13, 1998, Claimant testified that he had been employed by U.S. Airways as a baggage handler for fifteen years. He explained that in July 1995, he suffered a heart attack and underwent a triple bypass. Shortly after the surgery, he returned to work and he did not miss any additional work days until May of 1996, when he was out for two days due to chest pains. Over six months later, in January of 1997, Claimant missed another two days because of chest pains. According to Claimant, other than the above four absences, he had a good attendance record.

With respect to the events of February 5, 1997, Claimant testified that on that date, his supervisor told him that Gene Egan, his attendance manager, wanted to speak with him. He was upset about having to attend the meeting because he felt that he had a good attendance record. Later that afternoon, Claimant and his union steward met with Egan and Egan told them that Claimant had incurred four "occurrences," meaning that he had missed four days of work when he was scheduled to be at work.² Egan informed Claimant that if he incurred another "occurrence," he would be placed on level one, which was a type of disciplinary status.

Claimant stated that he questioned Egan about why one of his May 1996 absences had been deemed an "occurrence," and Egan replied that it had been designated as such, because he said so.³ Egan then apparently told Claimant that he was going to "write him up" for his attitude. At that point, Claimant felt chest pains. Egan suggested that Claimant take a walk and come back once he had calmed down, but Claimant refused. Egan then offered Claimant a Family Leave Plan, pursuant to which Claimant could incur "occurrences" due to his heart problems without disciplinary repercussions. Claimant completed the paperwork for the plan and thanked Egan. As he left the meeting, Claimant felt pain in his back, neck, and shoulder, and asked his union steward to take him to the hospital, where it was determined that he was suffering from a heart attack.

Claimant testified that a few days after his heart attack, he told one of his administrators about the attack and asked her if it was covered by workers' compensation, to which she replied that it was not. Claimant stated that he later informed this same administrator that he needed to take off thirty days due to his heart attack, and at that time, she again told him that his attack was not covered by workers' compensation. In July or August 1997, one of Claimant's co-workers gave him a book about workers' compensation. After reading the section on heart attacks, Claimant realized that his heart attack may have been related to his meeting with Egan and thereby covered by workers' compensation. Therefore, in August 1997, Claimant went to see Egan to file a work injury report.

In support of his petition for benefits, Claimant also offered a letter from his doctor, Stephen Osmanski, M.D., in which Dr. Osmanski opined that "the confrontation [between Egan and Claimant on February 5th] directly did contribute to [Claimant's] heart attack, causing him to be disabled from work for the thirty day recovery period." 10/10/1997 Letter from Dr. Osmanski to James Burn, Jr.

U.S. Airways subsequently offered testimony from Egan in its defense. According to Egan, as manager of attendance control, he routinely had "initial discussions" with employees when they incurred four "occurrences."⁴ WCJ Hearing, 4/28/1998, at 7-10. He recalled that during his February 5th meeting with Claimant, Claimant "appeared to be extremely upset and angry and irritated at the fact that he had to come to my office and discuss his attendance," because he "was angrily speaking . . . with his teeth clinched, and his hands were shaking." Id. at 14. Egan testified that he let Claimant "vent" for a few minutes and then told him that he was acting disrespectfully and would be disciplined if his conduct continued. Id. at 15. Egan also suggested that Claimant leave and calm down.

Egan stated that Claimant decided to remain in his office and the two went over Claimant's occurrences, with Claimant disputing the designation of his initial May absence as an "occurrence." Egan then offered Claimant the Family Medical Leave Plan and after completing some paperwork, Claimant left Egan's office. Egan testified that he did not know that Claimant was having physical difficulties during the meeting. While he later learned of Claimant's heart attack, he testified that he did not know that it was related to his meeting with Claimant until Claimant approached him in August 1997 to file a work injury report.

On February 10, 1999, the WCJ entered an order granting Claimant's claim petition and request for counsel fees.⁵ In response to U.S. Airways' claim that Claimant had failed to notify it of his injury within 120 days of his heart attack, as required by 77 P.S. § 631, the WCJ pointed out that the statutory notification period does not begin to run until a claimant either "knows or by reasonable diligence should know of the possible connection between an injury and work." Panyko v. U.S. Airways, WCJ Decision, 2/10/1999, at 6 (citing to 77 P.S. § 631). The WCJ then found that the notification period for Claimant's heart attack did not begin to run until July 1997 because "[Claimant] clearly and unequivocally testified that he was not aware of such a possible connection until he read the workers' compensation handbook in July of 1997." Id. Moreover, given that start date, the WCJ concluded that Claimant properly notified U.S. Airways of his injury in August 1997.

The WCJ further found that Claimant credibly testified that his February 5th heart attack occurred during his meeting with Egan.⁶ In addition, the WCJ accepted Dr. Osmanski's opinion that the meeting directly contributed to Claimant's heart attack and therefore awarded Claimant benefits, stating that Claimant had met his burden of proving that "he suffered an injury which arose in the course of his employment and that it was related thereto." Id. at 7. The WCJ then awarded Claimant counsel fees, finding that U.S. Airways did not have a reasonable basis for contesting Claimant's petition as it had not produced any evidence to rebut Claimant's assertions that his heart attack was related to the attendance meeting.

On appeal, the Board affirmed in part and reversed in part. The Board affirmed the WCJ's conclusion that Claimant's notification was timely as well as the WCJ's conclusion that Claimant was entitled to benefits, finding that both conclusions were supported by substantial evidence. However, the Board reversed the WCJ's award of counsel fees to Claimant, finding that U.S. Airways reasonably contested Claimant's petition based on his failure to notify it of his claim within 120 days of his heart attack because "the legal question of notice needed to be resolved." Panyko v. U.S. Airways, Board Decision, 10/11/2000, at 9.

U.S. Airways subsequently appealed to the Commonwealth Court, which affirmed the Board's conclusion that Claimant provided U.S. Airways with timely notice, but vacated the Board's conclusion that Claimant was entitled to benefits. See U.S. Airways v. Workers' Comp. Appeal Bd. (Panyko), 779 A.2d 1233 (Pa.Commw.2001). The Commonwealth Court explained that in Davis v. Workers' Comp. Appeal Bd. (Swarthmore Borough), 561 Pa.462, 751 A.2d 168 (2000), this Court held that where a claimant seeks benefits for a physical injury, such as a heart attack, caused by a psychic reaction to a working condition, such as stress, the claimant must prove not only that the psychic reaction caused the injury, but also that the working condition that caused the psychic reaction was abnormal. See U.S. Airways, 779 A.2d at 1239. Accordingly, relying on Davis, the court held that Claimant was required to prove that the psychic reaction that caused his heart attack on February 5th was the result of abnormal working conditions. However, the court pointed out that "because this prong of Claimant's burden was not addressed by the WCJ, there are no specific findings in this regard." Id. Therefore, the court vacated the Board's order granting Claimant benefits and remanded the matter to the Board "for further remand to the WCJ for findings in accordance with Claimant's burden of proof as set forth by . . . Davis." Id.

On remand, the WCJ held additional hearings during which both Claimant and Egan testified on the issue of whether the February 5th meeting was an abnormal working condition. Claimant testified that during the meeting, Egan was loud, harassing, and unprofessional. See WCJ Hearing, 12/4/2001, at 7-9. Moreover, he stated that he felt that his life was in danger when Egan threatened to "write him up" for his attitude. See id. at 24. As...