Court Upholds Workers’ Comp Claim in Firefighter Pneumonia Death

The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed a workers’ compensation ruling in favor of the family of a New Orleans firefighter who died from acute respiratory distress syndrome while attending training out of state. Captain Troy Magee, a 13 year veteran hazmat technician/firefighter, became critically ill during a week-long training course in New Mexico in October 2014.

Captain Magee was hospitalized with acute respiratory distress and multifocal pneumonia, and died days later. His treating physician listed the cause of death as “acute respiratory distress syndrome, secondary to influenza A, and H3/MRSA pneumonia.”

Magee’s parents filed a claim for death benefits under Louisiana’s Firefighter’s Heart and Lung Act, La. R.S. 33:2581. That law states: “Any disease or infirmity of the heart or lungs which develops during a period of employment in the classified fire service in the state of Louisiana shall be classified as a disease or infirmity connected with employment.”

The Office of Workers’ Compensation (OWC) ruled in their favor, awarding $75,000 in statutory death benefits, medical and funeral expenses, and attorney’s fees and penalties. The City of New Orleans appealed.

On appeal, the city challenged whether Magee’s illness fell within the scope of the Act, arguing that his pneumonia was caused by a bacterial infection unrelated to any disease or infirmity of the lungs. The Court of Appeals rejected this argument, holding that the statutory language is broad and does not require the underlying cause of a lung condition to itself be a lung disease. Because Magee’s death was due to a lung condition that arose during his employment and he had more than five years of service, the statutory presumption applied.

The court found that NOFD failed to rebut the presumption that Magee’s illness was caused or aggravated by his work as a firefighter. Although experts for the department suggested alternative sources of exposure—such as visits to a dialysis clinic where his mother was treated—the court noted that none of the expert opinions definitively ruled out work-related causation. Magee’s treating physician testified that firefighters are at increased risk for MRSA and could not exclude the possibility that Magee’s occupation contributed to his condition.

While the court upheld the compensability of the claim under the Heart and Lung Act, it reversed the award of penalties and attorney’s fees. It found that the city’s denial was not arbitrary or capricious, but based on a reasonable investigation into the cause of Magee’s illness.

Accordingly, the appellate court affirmed the award of death and medical benefits, but reversed the imposition of penalties and attorney’s fees. Here is a copy of the decision.