United States Department of Labor 

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

__________________________________________ 

B.A., Appellant 

and 

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, SYLMAR POST 

OFFICE, Sylmar, CA, Employer 

__________________________________________ 

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Docket No. 15-1384 

Issued: September 15, 2015 

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se 

Office of Solicitor, for the Director 

DECISION AND ORDER 

Before: 

CHRISTOPHER J. GODFREY, Chief Judge 

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge 

JAMES A. HAYNES, Alternate Judge 

JURISDICTION 

On June 8, 2015 appellant filed a timely appeal of an April 3, 2015 merit decision of the 

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). Pursuant to the Federal Employees’ 

Compensation Act1

 (FECA) and 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3, the Board has jurisdiction to 

consider the merits of the case.2

ISSUE 

The issue is whether appellant has met her burden of proof to establish that she sustained 

a traumatic injury in the performance of duty on February 7, 2015. 

 1

 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.

2

 On appeal to the Board appellant submitted new evidence. As OWCP did not consider this evidence in reaching 

its final decision, the Board may not consider it for the first time on appeal. 20 C.F.R. § 501.2(c)(1). 
2

FACTUAL HISTORY 

On February 9, 2015 appellant, then a 52-year-old window distribution clerk, filed a 

traumatic injury claim alleging that on February 7, 2015 she fractured her right shoulder. She 

stated that, as she was taking the mail to route 19, she stepped on a platform to set the mail down 

and fell to the floor, injuring her shoulder, nose, and knee. Appellant stated that she lost her 

footing and slipped off the platform. She submitted two witness statements in support of her 

claim noting that on February 7, 2015 she was lying on the floor in pain. Appellant also 

submitted a return to work note from Facey Medical Group dated February 7, 2015 which was 

illegible, including the signature. 

In a letter dated February 26, 2015, OWCP requested additional factual and medical 

evidence in support of appellant’s traumatic injury claim. It allowed her 30 days to respond. 

Appellant submitted an additional note from Facey Medical Group dated March 2015 

which indicated that she could not return to work for one more week. The remainder of the note, 

including the signature, is illegible. 

By decision dated April 3, 2015, OWCP denied appellant’s claim finding that she failed 

to submit the necessary medical opinion evidence to establish an injury in the performance of her 

job duties on February 7, 2015. 

LEGAL PRECEDENT 

An employee seeking benefits under FECA3

 has the burden of establishing the essential 

elements of his or her claim by the weight of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence, 

including the fact that the individual is an “employee of the United States” within the meaning of 

FECA and that the claim was timely filed within the applicable time limitation period of FECA, 

that an injury was sustained in the performance of duty as alleged, and that any disability or 

specific condition for which compensation is claimed is causally related to the employment 

injury.4 These are the essential elements of each and every compensation claim regardless of 

whether the claim is predicated upon a traumatic injury or an occupational disease.5

OWCP defines a traumatic injury as, “[A] condition of the body caused by a specific 

event or incident, or series of events or incidents, within a single workday or shift. Such 

condition must be caused by external force, including stress or strain which is identifiable as to 

time and place of occurrence and member or function of the body affected.”6 To determine 

whether a federal employee has sustained a traumatic injury in the performance of duty, it must 

first be determined whether a “fact of injury” has been established. First the employee must 

submit sufficient evidence to establish that he or she actually experienced the employment 

 3

 5 U.S.C. §§ 8101-8193. 

4 Kathryn Haggerty, 45 ECAB 383, 388 (1994); Elaine Pendleton, 41 ECAB 1143 (1989). 

5 Victor J. Woodhams, 41 ECAB 345 (1989). 

6

 20 C.F.R. § 10.5(ee). 
3

incident at the time, place, and in the manner alleged.7 Second, the employee must submit 

sufficient evidence, generally only in the form a medical evidence, to establish that the 

employment incident caused a personal injury.8

ANALYSIS 

The Board finds that appellant has not met her burden of proof to establish that she 

sustained a traumatic injury due to her employment on February 7, 2015. 

Appellant submitted a factual statement and witness statements that she fell to the floor 

from a platform on February 7, 2015 while moving mail at work. She alleged that she fractured 

her shoulder as the result of this incident. However, appellant has not provided a physician’s 

opinion on what if any medical condition resulted from the employment-related fall. She 

submitted two return to work notes from Facey Medical Group which did not include a legible 

diagnosis, legible signature, or other information regarding her claim. The Board has held that a 

medical report may not be considered as probative medical evidence if there is no indication that 

the person completing the report qualifies as a physician as defined in 5 U.S.C. § 8101(2).9 

Reports lacking proper identification do not constitute probative medical evidence.10 As the 

record does not contain medical evidence which provides a diagnosed condition and opines that 

the condition resulted from the February 7, 2015 employment incident, the Board finds that 

appellant has not met her burden of proof to establish that she sustained an injury in the 

performance of duty. 

Appellant may submit new evidence or argument with a written request for 

reconsideration to OWCP within one year of this merit decision, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 8128(a) 

and 20 C.F.R. §§ 10.605 through 10.607. 

CONCLUSION 

The Board finds that appellant has not met her burden of proof to establish that she 

sustained a traumatic injury in the performance of duty on February 7, 2015. 

 7 John J. Carlone, 41 ECAB 354 (1989). 

8 J.Z., 58 ECAB 529 (2007). 

9 V.R., Docket No. 14-1695 (issued January 9, 2015). 

10 Id. 
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ORDER 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the April 3, 2015 decision of the Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs is affirmed. 

Issued: September 15, 2015 

Washington, DC 

 

 Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 James A. Haynes, Alternate Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board