Lewis C. Ledbetter v. State Alaska

After Kenneth Jones suffered a severe attack of angina pectoris while working on the Alaska oil pipeline, he underwent coronary artery surgery at Stanford University Hospital in California. The Alaska Workmens Compensation Board (hereinafter "Board") denied his claim for temporary total disability compensation on the grounds that his disability was caused solely by his atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, and that the factors bringing on the angina attack did not affect this underlying condition. The Boards decision was affirmed by the superior court. We conclude that substantial evidence supports the Boards finding that Jones work-induced angina did not "aggravate, accelerate or combine with" his artery problem to necessitate surgery. But we find no evidence to support the Boards ruling that the angina caused no disability at all. Hence we must reverse the decisions below.