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No. 127912
| Randall G. Paige (Deceased), |
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Steven J. Pollok |
Plaintiff-Appellee, |
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vs (Worker's Comp Appellate Com)
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| City of Sterling Heights, Self-Insured, |
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Ronald A. Weglarz |
| and Accident Fund Company, |
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| Defendants-Appellants. |
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| ______________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellee's Response to Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Defendants-Appellants' Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Michigan Self-Insured's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
Randall G. Paige, a firefighter employed by the city of Sterling Heights, suffered a work-related heart attack in 1991 and did not work after that time. Paige suffered a second heart attack in August 2000 and, on January 4, 2001, passed away in his sleep as a result of a third heart attack or a fatal arrhythmia. Paige’s son Adam, born in 1983, filed a claim against the city for dependency benefits pursuant to MCL 418.375(2). He claimed that his father’s work-related injury was the proximate cause of death and that he, as his father’s dependent, was entitled to benefits. The worker’s compensation magistrate found that the 1991 work-related injury was the proximate cause of death, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Hagerman v Gencorp Automotive, 457 Mich 720 (1998). The magistrate also found that Adam Paige was a conclusively presumed dependent. The city appealed to the worker’s compensation appellate Commission (WCAC), arguing that Hagerman had been overruled by Robinson v City of Detroit, 462 Mich 439 (2000), and that the medical testimony did not establish that Randall Paige’s work-related injury was the proximate cause of his death. The city also argued that the magistrate erred in presuming that Adam Paige was a dependent and that the magistrate should have reconsidered the question anew as of the time of the father’s death. The WCAC affirmed the magistrate’s rulings. The Court of Appeals denied the city’s application for leave to appeal. The city appeals.
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