Cooley v. New York State Police

In January 1985, claimant, a State Trooper for 14 years, began experiencing chest pains while cutting wood with a chainsaw. Shortly thereafter he suffered a heart attack.* Subsequently, claimant filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits asserting that his heart attack was caused by stress on his job from being pressured to write more tickets and also by chopping wood, which he stated he did in order to keep in good physical shape for work. The State Insurance Fund controverted this claim alleging that claimant’s heart attack occurred while he was involved in a personal act, namely…