WCAB

We conclude that the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) erred in concluding that the evidence presented in this case rebutted the presumption in Labor Code section 3212.2 that the applicant’s heart trouble arose out of and in the course of his employment as a correctional officer for the Department of Corrections.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I

Facts

Barryn Davis, Sr., worked as a correctional officer with the Department of Corrections at Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, California, from 1986 to 1999. He was the guardian of Barryn Davis, Jr.

During the 1999 Thanksgiving holiday, Davis, Sr., developed an upper respiratory infection. Davis, Sr., then developed bronchitis, which spread to the heart. The virus caused a viral myocarditis that led to Davis, Sr.’s sudden death by heart attack at his home on December 15, 1999.

II

Procedure

Cynthia Jackson, as the guardian ad litem for Barryn Davis, Jr., filed an application for adjudication of claim asserting that Davis, Sr.’s heart attack arose out of and in the course of his employment. In those proceedings, Jackson invoked the presumption contained in Labor Code section 3212.2, which provides in…