Claim of McClain v. Buffalo News

Appeal from a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Board, filed October 13, 1999, which ruled that the death of claimant’s decedent was causally related to an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment.

Decedent, an outside employee who traveled frequently in his capacity as a district manager for a newspaper, died in an accidental fire which destroyed his company van. Claimant, decedent’s widow, filed a claim for workers’ compensation death benefits alleging that decedent had been traveling for business at the time of his death. Applying the presumption of…