Townsend v. Maine Bureau of Public Safety

DELAHANTY, Justice.

We here confront the complex and sensitive issue of whether and under what circumstances a gradual mental injury will be compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Act (Act), 39 M.R.S.A. § 1 et seq. By a decree dated July 11, 1978, the Workers’ Compensation Commission (Commission) awarded three months of total compensation to Christine M. Townsend for mental anxiety requiring hospitalization which was allegedly caused by day-to-day employment pressures. We sustain the appeal of the claimant’s employer, Maine Bureau of Public Safety (Bureau), brought to us from a pro-forma…