Thurston v. Mitchell Bros. Contractors

Claimant appeals from an order of the Workers’ Compensation Board reversing a referee’s finding that his myocardial infarction was job-related. The issue is compensability. We review de novo and affirm.

Claimant, age 50, was employed as a truck driver. At noon on February 20, 1979, he left home to load his truck in Tacoma for a haul to San Francisco. On reaching Tacoma at 2 p.m., his first task was to strap and tie down his load. That process took from 20 to 30 minutes and was physically demanding, causing him to sweat and to breathe heavily. He began driving from Tacoma at about 3 p.m. On…