Elvin Berrios Dec — ADJ19102087

Elvin Berrios, a 43-year-old outside salesperson/territory manager for LX Hausys America, died of sudden cardiac arrest on November 10, 2023 while traveling between sales calls during his employment. The WCJ found the death arose out of and in the course of employment, awarding death benefits and burial expenses to his widow and children based on QME cardiologist Dr. Stuart Fischer's opinion that job stress was a contributing (60% industrial, 40% non-industrial) cause of the fatal cardiac arrest. Defendant sought reconsideration, arguing Dr. Fischer's opinions were not substantial medical evidence due to an inadequate and biased factual foundation, and that the WCJ failed to apply Labor Code section 3208.3 requiring predominant cause. The Board denied reconsideration, adopting the WCJ's Report, holding that Dr. Fischer's opinions constituted substantial medical evidence, that a physical injury (cardiac arrest) from stress does not trigger the psychiatric injury standard of section 3208.3, and that only contributing causation (reasonably probable) is required, not a precise percentage. The Board deferred greatly to the WCJ's credibility findings and confirmed that all reasonable doubts in a death claim must be resolved in favor of the widow.