- Drug addiction
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Board Directives and Guidelines (stress, mental) (traumatic event)
The worker was a former police officer. In April 2008, the worker made a claim to the Board for entitlement for a cocaine addiction resulting from his work as an undercover officer in a drug enforcement unit. The issues under appeal were: a) initial entitlement for cocaine addiction/substance abuse disorder under Claim A, established with an accident date of April 7, 2008; and, b) initial entitlement for PTSD/traumatic mental stress (TMS) under Claim B, established with an accident date of May 13, 2006.
The appeal was allowed.The Panel found that the worker's undercover police work made a significant contribution to his cocaine addiction. While not a requirement of the job, the nature of the undercover work the worker was engaged in at the time of his initial exposure to cocaine significantly contributed to his decision to inhale it, and precipitated his addiction. The Panel was satisfied that the worker's exposure to cocaine arose out of and in the course of his employment as an undercover officer. The Panel referenced OPM Document No. 15-02-02, "Accident in the Course of Employment." The Panel focused on the criterion of activity as the worker did not have fixed working hours, and was expected to work away from his fixed workplace while working undercover. The Panel was satisfied that the activity was reasonably incidental to the worker's employment, given the nature of the work he performed as an undercover police officer in drug enforcement, the nature of the work environment, and the customs and practices of the particular workplace. The medical evidence also supported compatibility of diagnosis to the accident history.Section 14 of the WSIA creates a rebuttable presumption of entitlement for PTSD for first responders and other designated workers, including police officers. In this case, the worker was not employed as a police officer for at least one day on or after April 6, 2014. As such, the statutory presumption of entitlement for PTSD for first responders did not apply to the worker's claim. The Panel considered the worker's entitlement for PTSD under the Board's TMS policy found in OPM Document No. 15-03-02. To establish entitlement for TMS, a worker must be exposed to one or more work-related, objectively traumatic and identifiable events, which result in a mental stress condition that is diagnosed by a qualified medical professional. The evidence established that the worker was exposed to objectively traumatic and identifiable events arising out of and in the course of his employment. Further, this exposure significantly contributed to the worker developing PTSD, as diagnosed by his treating psychiatrists and psychologist.