Opinion · Orlaw Oregon

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BELL TEL. CO. v. RISTICK, 67 Or. App. 332 (1984)

677 P.2d 762

Type
Opinion
Court
Orlaw Oregon
Jurisdiction
Orlaw
Date
1984-03-07
Topic
general

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BELL TEL. CO. v. RISTICK, 67 Or. App. 332 (1984) 677 P.2d 762 In the Matter of the Compensation of Julie Ristick, Claimant.PACIFIC NORTHWEST BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. RISTICK,Respondent. 80-08650; CA A27041Oregon Court of Appeals.On petitioner's reconsideration filed December 22, 1983Reconsideration granted November 23, 1984 Reversed March 7, 1984 Judicial Review from Workers' Compensation Board.

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed PACIFIC NORTHWEST BELL TEL. CO. v. RISTICK, 67 Or. App. 332 (1984). The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BELL TEL. CO. v. RISTICK,67 Or. App. 332(1984)
677 P.2d 762
In the Matter of the Compensation of Julie Ristick, Claimant.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY,Petitioner,v. RISTICK,
Respondent.
80-08650; CA A27041
Oregon Court of Appeals.
On petitioner's reconsideration filed December 22, 1983
Reconsideration granted November 23, 1984
Reversed March 7, 1984
Judicial Review from Workers' Compensation Board.
Bruce K. Posey, Portland, for petition.
Before Buttler, Presiding Judge, and Warren and Rossman, Judges.

PER CURIAM

Petition for reconsideration granted; former decision withdrawn; reversed.Page 333
PER CURIAM
Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company (Bell) has petitioned for reconsideration of our decision,65 Or. App. 814,671 P.2d 1211(1983), affirming the Board's and the referee's decisions holding that claimant had a compensable claim. We grant the petition in the light ofMcGarrah v. SAIF,296 Or. 145,675 P.2d 159(1983).

We are now convinced that the claim is not compensable. It is unclear from the evidence whether the stress that claimant attributed to her work was real, as required byMcGarrah,or was merely based on her unfounded perceptions. We also conclude that, regardless of whether the work-related stress was real or merely perceived, it was not the major contributing cause of claimant's mental disability. Claimant had a strong susceptibility to tension arising out of her family relationships and was involved in several family-related crises during her employment at Bell. It was, in fact, the most recent of those crises, the death of her aunt, that precipitated an extended unauthorized leave of absence from Bell, resulting in her termination for voluntary job abandonment. The medical evidence also establishes that claimant's employment was not the major contributing cause of her mental disorder. Accordingly, her claim is not compensable.McGarrah v. SAIF, supra; SAIF v. Gygi,55 Or. App. 570,639 P.2d 655,rev den292 Or. 825(1982).

Petition for reconsideration granted; former decision withdrawn; reversed.Page 334