Name
Burns v. Maine Department of Public Safety
Insurance Company
Maine Workers' Compensation Division
Date Decided
October 9, 2019
Panel Members
Sue Jerome
Evelyn Knopf
Mike Stovall
Categories
Mental Stress InjuryTags
Petition for Review Earning Capacity PTSD
File Size
92 KB
DownloadSummary from the Troubh Heisler Attorneys
The WCB Appellate Division affirmed Judge Hirtle’s decision denying the Department’s Petition for Review of Incapacity, finding that the record contained competent evidence supporting his factual finding that Mr. Burns had no earning capacity.
Mr. Burns had PTSD from his work as a state trooper and left that job to perform carpentry, but his PTSD apparently prevented him from continuing even that job. The Department had surveillance showing Mr. Burns “helping out” at a campsite, and the Department’s medical expert said Mr. Burns had a work capacity.
Mr. Burns and his treating doctor said that, although he was active in his community, he had no real earning capacity, and the Appellate Division panel held that Judge Hirtle was entitled to adopt that evidence over the opinion of the Department's medical expert. The Department argued that Mr. Burns was not credible, as at hearing he failed to admit his activities, but the panel held that Judge Hirtle was in the best position to judge Mr. Burns’ credibility.