Opinion ID: 1059753
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: CITY OF HOPEWELL v. MICHAEL W. TIRPAK

Text: In February 1995, Michael W. Tirpak had a stress test as part of a routine physical examination scheduled by his employer, the City of Hopewell Police Department (the employer). During the test, Tirpak experienced a burning sensation in his chest and shortness of breath, and an electrocardiogram revealed some coronary abnormalities. A cardiac catheterization showed blockages in three of his coronary arteries. As a result, Tirpak had coronary artery bypass surgery. At the time of surgery, Tirpak was a supervising sergeant of the evening patrol shift for the City of Hopewell Police Department, where he had been employed since 1973. Tirpak filed a claim for temporary total disability benefits based on his heart disease. At a hearing before a deputy commissioner, Tirpak presented evidence from his treating cardiologist, Dr. Ashok Kumar, who stated that Tirpak had a 30-year history of smoking cigarettes, and that he had a family history of premature coronary artery disease. Dr. Kumar also stated that he could not exclude job-related stress as a cause of Tirpak's heart disease. Dr. J. James Zocco, the cardiac surgeon who performed Tirpak's surgery, stated that work-related stress could not be excluded as a contributing factor in Tirpak's heart disease. Dr. Zocco also stated that Tirpak had other coronary risk factors, including a family history of heart disease, a 30-year history of smoking cigarettes, hypertension, and elevated blood cholesterol levels. The employer presented evidence from Dr. Stuart F. Seides, a cardiologist who reviewed Tirpak's medical records. Noting Tirpak's several risk factors, Dr. Seides stated that Tirpak's employment had nothing whatsoever to do with his coronary artery disease. The employer also presented evidence from Dr. Jack Freund, a specialist in internal medicine who reviewed Tirpak's medical records. Dr. Freund stated that, based on Tirpak's non-work-related risk factors for coronary artery disease, Tirpak's heart disease and heart attack would have occurred no matter what type of employment he was engaged in. The deputy commissioner awarded Tirpak benefits, and the Commission affirmed the award, stating that it gave greater weight to the opinion of the treating physicians, who had stated that they could not exclude employment-related stress as one of the contributing factors. The Commission stated that [t]he employer fails to rebut the [statutory] presumption where a work related factor such as occupational stress is not excluded. On appeal, the Court of Appeals held that the Commission's language indicated that it had applied an incorrect standard, which required the employer to exclude the possibility of a work-related cause of Tirpak's disease without regard to whether he had presented evidence of such a causal link. City of Hopewell v. Tirpak, 28 Va.App. 100, 111-12, 502 S.E.2d 161, 166-67 (1998). The Court vacated the award of benefits and remanded the case to the Commission for further proceedings on the issue whether the employer had overcome the statutory presumption. Id. at 129, 502 S.E.2d at 175.