HEART DISEASE UNDER WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION

In expert testimony before the Industrial Accident Commission, all physicians are taken as equally competent. The value of their testimony depends upon the validity of their data and the reasons for the conclusions drawn. In case of conflicting opinion, the referees, who are laymen, must decide on the basis of the testimony. Therefore physicians preparing reports must see that data are complete, that all routine investigative procedures are not only applied but reported, and that the reasons for claiming connection of injury with employment are fully stated. Moreover, other recognized causes of the patient''s condition should be considered and ruled out for reasons given.The increasing number of claims for workmen''s compensation in heart disease, and the increasing tendency of insurers to settle rather than contest claims, may actually be harmful to the welfare of persons with heart disease, for it deters employers from hiring them and thus risking higher insurance costs. Physicians concerned with compensation claims must develop more widely acceptable standards that properly separate the inherent risk of heart disease from that incurred through employment for which the employer may reasonably be considered liable.