No specific laws identified for this ruling.
The Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals affirmed that the employee has a compensable post-traumatic stress disorder claim, rejecting the employer's challenge to the compensation judge's credibility findings and expert diagnosis.
1. The Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals' affirmance of the compensation judge's finding that the employee has compensable post-traumatic stress disorder is not manifestly contrary to the evidence because the compensation judge based his conclusion on the employee's credibility and the persuasiveness of an expert diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. 2. In accord with our decision in Smith v. Carver County, 931 N.W.2d 390, 396–97 (Minn. 2019), compensation judges may review the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria when considering the persuasiveness of expert reports, but judges may not use those criteria to make their own diagnosis of a claimant's condition. Affirmed.
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
1. The employee's injury occurred "in the course of" employment for the purpose of Minnesota Statutes section 176.021, subdivision 1 (2024), because the undisputed facts show that the employee sustained the injury within an hour of the end of the workday, the injury occurred at the workplace, and the employee was engaged in employment-related activity. 2. Minnesota Statutes section 176.021, subdivision 9 (2024), which excludes from workers' compensation liability injuries that occur while an employee is participating in a voluntary employer-sponsored recreational program, applies only to employer programs that are for the benefit of employees. Affirmed.
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