MIGUEL HERRERA
v.
THE PROVIDENCE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
W.C.C. 2016-07038
Rhode Island Worker Compensation
State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence
December 20, 2019
FINAL DECREE OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This
matter came on to be heard by the Appellate Division upon the
claim of appeal of the petitioner/employee and upon
consideration thereof, the employee's appeal is denied
and dismissed, and it is
ORDERED,
ADJUDGED, AND DECREED:
That
the findings of fact and the orders contained in a decree of
this Court entered on August 10, 2017 be, and they hereby
are, affirmed.
PER
ORDER:
Nicholas
DiFilippo, Administrator
DECISION
OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
OLSSON, J.
This
matter is before the Appellate Division on the employee's
appeal from the trial judge's decision and decree denying
the employee's allegation that he developed posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) in addition to sustaining right hip
and right thigh, contusions on February 19, 2016, during the
course of his employment. After a thorough review of the
record and the trial judge's decision, we deny the
employee's appeal and affirm the trial judge's
decision and decree.
This
matter came before the court on the employee's original
petition in which he alleged that he sustained an injury to
his right leg on February 19, 2016 resulting in total or
partial incapacity from February 20, 2016 to March 24, 2016.
At the pretrial conference on December 28, 2016, the trial
judge granted the petition, finding that the employee
sustained right hip and right thigh contusions on February
19, 2016 which resulted in partial disability from February
20, 2016 through March 9, 2016. The employee timely claimed a
trial.
On
February 27, 2017, the first day of trial, the employee moved
to amend his petition to allege that he developed PTSD as a
result of the work-related injury on February 19, 2016. In
addition, the employee alleged that his average weekly wage
was One Thousand Five Hundred Eighty-nine and 34/100
($1,589.34) Dollars and he suffered a period of partial
incapacity from February 20, 2016 to March 9, 2016, which was
consistent with the pretrial order. At the hearing, the
parties agreed to the terms of the amended petition but for
the addition of PTSD to the description of the injury.
Consequently, the only issue before the trial judge was
whether the employee developed PTSD as a result of the
incident at work on February 19, 2016.
Miguel
Herrera (the employee) testified through an interpreter that
he has been working for the Providence School Department (the
employer) as a teacher since March 2004. The employee is a
bilingual Spanish teacher certified for grades one (1)
through six (6), and is currently teaching the fifth grade.
However, the employee was teaching Spanish at the high school
level in February 2016, and claimed that the students
harassed, threatened, and threw objects at him. The employee
testified that on February 2, 2016, while the employee was
writing a behavioral report on a student for assaulting him,
said student jumped on the employee, taking the
employee's report and throwing it out. The employee
reported the incident and testified that the incident made
him nervous and stressed. Nevertheless, he continued
to work.
On
February 19, 2016, the principal came to the employee's
class after the employee reported a student. When the
employee walked over to point out the student, the student
threw a chair at the employee hitting him in the abdomen,
right leg, and part of his left leg. The employee filed a
report and stated that he had nightmares and lost motivation
to go to work.
The
employee went to his primary care physician, Dr. Emilio
Rodriguez-Peris, on February 24, 2016, for complaints of
stress, insomnia, and physical pain from his right leg and
thigh from the assault incident. Dr. Rodriguez-Peris took the
employee out of work for two (2) weeks from February 24, 2016
through March 9,2016, with the employee returning to work on
March 10, 2016. The employee sought treatment with Dr.
Richard Anderson on one occasion in March 2016. The employee
also treated with Angell Street Psychiatry, Ltd. The employee
continues to treat with Dr. Rodriguez-Peris and Angell Street
Psychiatry.
On
cross-examination, the employee acknowledged that he began
treatment at Angell Street Psychiatry on November 13, 2014.
The employee agreed that he was referred for psychiatric
counseling by Dr. Rodriguez-Peris because of his anxiety and
depression after a work suspension and subsequent
termination, which was eventually reversed after arbitration.
The employee testified extensively regarding his ongoing
problems with his employer; specifically, that he was falsely
accused of physically grabbing the hood of a student on April
9, 2014, which led to his immediate suspension with pay. The
employee was ultimately terminated in October 2014, and
experienced financial difficulties while the matter proceeded
to arbitration. In March 2015, an agreement was reached in
which the employee's termination was reduced to a
disciplinary suspension without pay from October 16, 2014
through November...