Texas Firefighter Loses Workers’ Comp Appeal For Heart Condition

Last month, the Texas Court of Appeals ruled that a Beaumont firefighter was not entitled to workers’ compensation for his coronary heart disease, lipid levels, or gastritis. In the ruling the judge decided that the man’s health conditions were not directly caused by his employment or significantly aggravated by his employment.

In the case, the man was compensated for medical costs following a heart attack while he was on the job as a Beaumont firefighter in Texas. However, during his recovery from the heart attack, workers’ compensation denied a claim that would pay for his related medication in addition to other diagnosed problems, including coronary heart disease and high-density lipoproteins.

The court ruled that the man was at high risk for the health problems not because of his job, but because of genetic propensity and lifestyle choices (the man smokes). A doctor also testified that the man’s newer conditions were not related to the heart attack.