Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Scullion [2010] EWCA Civ 310 CI 2842 2006
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Judge E. A. L. Bano |
| Judgment Date | 23 March 2010 |
| Appellant | Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Scullion [2010] EWCA Civ 310 |
| Court | Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) |
| Subject Matter | Industrial accidents |
| Docket Number | CI 2842 2006 |
| Respondent | SSWP |
CI/2842/2006
DECISION OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER
1. My decision is that the decision of the tribunal is erroneous in point of law. I set aside the tribunal’s decision and on the basis of my own findings of fact I substitute for the tribunal’s decision my own decision declaring that the claimant suffered an industrial accident on 25 March 2002
2. This is an appeal by the claimant against the decision of the tribunal given on 16 May 2006, dismissing the claimant’s appeal against the refusal of the Secretary of State to make a declaration of an industrial accident under section 29(2) of the Social Security Act 1998 in respect of a cardiac arrest suffered by the claimant on 25 March 2002. I held an oral hearing of the appeal on 25 January 2007 attended by the claimant and by Ms. Gillian Jackson, Solicitor, on behalf of the Secretary of State. There have been further written submissions by both parties since the oral hearing.
3. The facts are not in dispute. The claimant, a fit and active ex-serviceman, was employed by the Ministry of Defence as a Service Families Accommodation Accountant. In 2001 a planning manager in the claimant’s department became ill and shortly afterwards a stores manager was promoted and transferred to other work, so that in the first part of 2002 the claimant had to carry out their work as well as his own. The strains on the claimant were also increased by a major Army unit re-location during that period, and during the oral hearing before me the claimant gave a vivid account of the pressures on him as a result of complaints by service personnel about their accommodation.
4. On his arrival at work on 25 March 2002 the claimant was seen by a colleague to be looking unwell. The claimant told his colleague that he would go home when he had finished his work, but shortly afterwards the person working in the room next to the claimant’s office heard a loud crash. On entering the claimant’s office, he saw that the claimant had collapsed. He summoned the first-aider, who found that the claimant was not breathing and had no pulse. The first-aider attempted to resuscitate the claimant using oxygen until he was taken to hospital by air ambulance.
5. On his arrival at hospital the claimant was found to have suffered a cardiac arrest, from which he fortunately recovered, although he has not been able to resume work and has retired on ill-health grounds. In a letter dated 11 May 2006 the claimant’s consultant cardiologist reported to the claimant’s general practitioner about his condition as follows:
“The medical records were available to me. Investigation…showed a normal echocardiogram with no evidence of cardiomyopathy. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was noted on cardiac monitors while he was an in-patient.
Cardiac catherisation revealed normal left ventricular function. There was mild coronary artery disease present with no evidence of a recent myocardial infarction.
The patient went to…for electrophysiological studies. This was performed on 25.4.2002. There was no inducible malignant ventricular arrhythmia and no evidence of sinus node disease. Atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation were inducible by catheter manipulation. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator was recommended and this was undertaken…on 14.5.2002.
…
The etiology of his ventricular fibrillation remains obscure. The presence of mild coronary artery disease would be a substrtate for this condition. (The claimant) tells me that he had been under significant pressure at work during the period immediately before his out of hospital cardiac arrest. This may have contributed to the appearance of the ventricular arrhythmia at that time.”
6. The claim for a declaration of an industrial...
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