Claim of Brown v. Highways Displays, Inc.
Judge Reynolds dissents, arguing for the reversal of the board's decision to award death benefits. The board had found the deceased claimant's work activities, including operating a punch, carrying angle irons, and placing a cutting machine, sufficiently strenuous to precipitate a myocardial infarction. However, Judge Reynolds contends that the record lacks adequate evidence to substantiate the extent of the decedent's involvement in such strenuous activities just prior to his collapse. He highlights the absence of proof for key strenuous tasks and notes that medical testimony supporting causal relationship was based on an unsubstantiated assumption of heavy work. The dissent concludes that the record does not support the finding of causal relationship or that the work entailed greater exertion than the ordinary wear and tear of life.