Jeffery Clegg — ADJ12322184

Jeffery Clegg, a correctional officer at Wasco State Prison from 1994 to 2019, claimed an industrial heart injury (aortic valve disease and ascending aortic aneurysm). The WCJ found that applicant established the statutory presumption of industrial causation under Labor Code sections 3212.2 and 3212.10, awarded 59% permanent partial disability ($99,542.50), and held that apportionment was prohibited under Labor Code section 4663(e). Defendant (State Compensation Insurance Fund for CDCR) petitioned for reconsideration, arguing the heart conditions developed/manifested before employment and that the presumptions should not apply. The WCAB denied reconsideration, adopting and incorporating the WCJ's report, holding that the presumption applied based on a preponderance of the evidence (PQME Dr. Caren's opinion) and that defendant failed to rebut it by proving a contemporaneous non-work-related event was the sole cause of the heart trouble under Jackson v. WCAB.