Comp court denies truck driver’s mental stress-related claim

A Tennessee workers compensation court on Wednesday denied a claim filed by a truck driver who said job stress caused him to suffer from dizziness and vertigo.

The driver for Hub Group suffered dizziness on a bathroom break at a rest stop. Days later, he went to a hospital with complaints of dizziness and headaches and was eventually diagnosed with hypertension, hyperlipidemia and vertigo, according to Docket 2023-08-02183, filed in the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims.

Medical testimony showed that the man had suffered a mini-stroke several years prior, but it was unclear whether it was connected to what he had suffered while working. One doctor completed a causation letter “in which he stated that he did not determine an exact diagnosis of (the) condition” and “could thus not state if (the) condition arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of his employment.”

The man testified “that the stresses of his job caused his injury. However, he admitted he had no medical opinion showing that his condition was work-related,” according to the ruling.

To meet that burden of proof, the man would have had to present evidence from a doctor finding to “a reasonable degree of medical certainty that his work injury contributed more than 50% in causing his current need for medical treatment, considering all causes.” The court established that he did not prove his case.

The court relied on a case that found that “subjective belief, no matter how sincerely held, is not a sufficient basis to support his claim for workers compensation benefits.”