Connecticut Supreme Court Offers Clarification on Timliness of Heart & Hypertension Claims

In a long awaited decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court provided some clarity in the murky waters of when must a police officer or fire fighter bring a heart or hypertension claim under Connnecticut General Statute section 7-433c. In Ciarelli v. Town of Hamden which was released on December 21, 2010, the Court concluded 1.) that a claim for heart and hypertension benefits should not be treated as if it were a repetitive trauma type claim, but rather as an accidental injury, specific to a certain date and time and 2.) the one year statute of limitiation for bringing such a claim begins to run when a claimant receives "an actual diagnosis of hypertension communicated to (him) by a medical professional."

This establishes a black letter rule that seems to be far easier for claimant's and their attorneys to follow in analyzing whether or not an H&H claim is timely. If the doctor tells you you have "hypertension" then the clock begins to run. Isolated elevated readings do not a diagnosis of hypertension make.

If you or a member of your family is in the police or fire fighting fields, and you feel as if you may have a claim for Connecticut heart and hypertension benefits, please call our West Hartford Worker's Compensation office for a no obligation assesment of your particular scenario.

Ugghh....

I have to admit that this one is personal. I had a hand in defending the Cessario v Meriden matter at my former firm, and never in my wildest dreams would I have envisioned the result the trial commissioner reached, let alone have it affirmed by the CRB. Officer Cessario retired from the Meriden PD in 1978 with a disability pension on account of his hypertension (high blood pressure). Remember well that hypertension in police officers and fire fighters was (and to a large degree still is) presumed to have been caused by the job, and thus compensable under Connecticut Workers Comp.

Cut to 2001. 23 years later! (No longer) officer Cessario has a heart attack which he is, for reasons unfathomable to me, able to relate back to the late 70s high blood presure. The trial commissioner chose to ignore the opionion of Dr. Jim Dougherty, one of the finer cardiologists in the State, who adroitly points out numerous other occupational factors that brought abought the heart attck and tag the City with the costs for current benefits, increased PPD, and all manner of other expensive goodies that will be passed on to the Meriden tax payers.

The CRB does not address the Citys defense that the claim for the 2001 heart attack was utimely. If you read the opinion, they just skate over that.

I hope the City appeals. They should. This decision is a killer for Connecticut municipaligties.