CT Court Affirms Death Benefits Award Following Suicide
The Appellate Court of Connecticut affirmed an award of death benefits to the spouse of an employee who committed suicide following a work-related knee injury, finding that substantial evidence supported the board’s determination that there was a chain-of-causation between the compensable injury and the employee’s death [Orzech v. Giacco Oil Co., 2021 Conn. App. LEXIS 361 (Oct. 19, 2021). Acknowledging that the employee’s death had been the result of acute intoxication, the court said the employee’s fatal action was not untethered to his compensable injuries or the depression that he thereafter developed.
Background
The deceased employee sustained injuries in a work-related fall, which aggravated an existing knee injury to such an extent that he could no longer work or carry out his daily activities. The employee’s physician recommended knee replacement surgery, however, the employee’s health insurance had been canceled 30 days after the incident and he could not afford the procedure. He filed a workers’ compensation claim relating to the compensability of the knee replacement surgery. Prior to the conclusion of the formal hearings before the commissioner, the employee committed suicide.
Thereafter, the deceased employee’s spouse filed a claim for survivorship benefits. Following the testimony of both expert and lay witnesses, the commissioner determined that the employee had died by suicide as a result of depression that stemmed from compensable work injuries and that the plaintiff was entitled to survivorship benefits.
The employer sought review with the board, contending that, inter alia, the deceased employee’s consumption of an excessive amount of alcohol and medication prior to his death constituted a superseding cause that broke the chain of causation between the work incident and his death. The board disagreed and affirmed the commissioner’s finding and award, and the employer appealed.
Appellate Court’s Decision
The appellate court determined that the board properly affirmed the commissioner’s award of survivorship benefits to the spouse. The court observed that the commissioner’s subordinate findings that the decedent developed depression following the work incident, that his compensable injuries were a substantial contributing factor to his development of depression, that the manner of his death was a suicide, and that his suicide stemmed from his depression, were reasonable and grounded in the evidence produced during the proceedings before the commissioner.
The appellate court added that the commissioner’s finding that a chain of causation existed linking the deceased employee’s compensable injuries to his death was supported by the record and was not the misapplication of law. The court stressed that the case upon which the employer relied, Sapko v. State, 305 Conn. 360, 44 A.3d 827 (2012), had involved a death resulting from an accidental overdose whereas, in the present case, the deceased employee’s manner of death, a suicide from acute intoxication, was an act not untethered to his compensable injuries or the depression that he thereafter developed.