BRUCE M. HOLZSCHUH, Employee/Appellant,
v.
MNSCU METRO. STATE UNIV., Self-Insured Employer/Respondent,
and
HARTFORD LIFE, BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD MN/BLUE PLUS, and ALLINA MED. CLINIC, Intervenors.
No. WC18-6231
Minnesota Workers Compensation
Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals
May 20, 2019
CAUSATION
– PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION. Substantial evidence,
including medical records, expert psychological opinion, and
lay testimony supported the finding that the employee had
failed to prove that he sustained a work-related PTSD
condition within the meaning of DSM-5 and the Minnesota
Workers’ Compensation Act.
Jerry
W. Sisk and Thomas D. Mottaz, Law Office of Thomas Mottaz,
Coon Rapids, Minnesota, for the Appellant.
Richard W. Schmidt and Michael R. Johnson, Cousineau,
Waldhauser & Kieselbach, P.A., Mendota Heights,
Minnesota, for the Respondent.
Determined by: Patricia J. Milun, Chief Judge, David A.
Stofferahn, Judge, Deborah K. Sundquist, Judge
Compensation Judge: Kathleen Behounek
Affirmed.
OPINION
PATRICIA J. MILUN, CHIEF JUDGE.
The
employee argues that the compensation judge erred as a matter
of law by finding the employee did not sustain a compensable
work-related injury on May 17, 2016, in the nature of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as manifested though
his anxiety and depression. We conclude that the compensation
judge’s findings are supported by substantial evidence,
and affirm.
BACKGROUND
Bruce
M. Holzschuh, the employee, began working for the
self-insured employer, MNSCU Metropolitan State University
(MNSCU), as an admissions counselor in 2000. In 2006, he was
assigned to create an admissions and transition assistance
program for MNSCU applicants and students who were military
veterans. After he created the program, MNSCU assigned him to
work as the coordinator of veteran student services. In this
role, the employee was the program’s sole permanent
staff member, assisted by work-study students. The duties of
this position involved meeting with veteran students to
provide them with guidance and counseling related to their
school activities, benefits, and funding. The employee is not
a licensed psychologist or health care professional and has
no formal training as a psychological counselor; however, he
testified that much of his job involved listening to military
veteran students discuss the psychological effects they were
experiencing from traumatic situations they...
