Suicide May Be Compensable Even If It Is Planned.

In 2001, while working as a ship laborer, plaintiff fell 25 to 50 feet from a barge to a dry dock, landing on a steel floor. He suffered blunt trauma to the head, chest and abdomen, a fractured rib and scapula and knee and back pain. He resumed work but left after a while. He filed a workers’ compensation claim under the Longshore Act [33 U.S.C. §§ 901-950]. In 2003, he shot himself in the head, causing severe head injuries, and sought compensation under the Act. A psychiatrist testified plaintiff had a major depressive disorder “due to multiple traumas and chronic pain, posttraumatic stress disorder, and a cognitive disorder.” An administrative law judge denied plaintiff’s claim for benefits. The Ninth Circuit granted petition for review and remanded, stating “the ALJ erroneously applied the irresistible impulse test and concluded that because [plaintiff] planned his suicide, he could not have committed suicide impulsively. But under the correct chain of causation test, a suicide may be compensable even if it is planned. [Plaintiff] need not demonstrate that he attempted to end his life in a delirium or frenzy.” Kealoha v. Director Office of Workers Compensation Programs (Ninth Circuit; April 9, 2013) (Case No. 11-71194).