The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that a city seeking to prevent a police officer from relying on a presumption that his heart disease arose out of employment must show that the officer failed to address correctable predisposing conditions.
Robert Holland served as a police officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for 25 years before retiring in 2012. During annual physicals, he was told he had high triglycerides, a predisposing condition for heart disease, and was told about corrective measures to take. , according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department v. Hollandpublished on Thursday.
In 2015, Holland was diagnosed with high blood pressure and began taking medication for the condition. He later suffered two heart attacks.
The department denied Mr. Holland̵
7;s workers’ compensation claim, arguing that he had previously failed to correct his predisposing condition of high triglycerides. An investigating officer confirmed the denial, but a district court judge reversed.The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed, declaring that a police officer who had been on the job for two years before suffering a disabling heart condition is entitled to a statutory presumption of industrial causation for his condition.
The court noted that the record contained no testimony as to whether correction of the predisposing condition was within Mr. Holland’s ability, nor was there evidence to support the argument that he failed to take corrective action.
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