Itt Corp. v. Walter West

MEMORANDUM

ITT Corp. petitions for review of the Benefits Review Board’s order affirming the decision of the administrative law judge (ALJ) to grant Walter West’s claim for disability and medical benefits under the Defense Base Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1651 et seq.

The ALJ properly found that West made a prima facie showing that he suffered a work-related injury and was .therefore entitled to the statutory presumption of eligibility. See Haw. Stevedores, Inc. v. Ogawa, 608 F.3d 642, 651 (9th Cir.2010). For purposes of the prima facie analysis, the ALJ made a reasonable determination that West’s August 2008 back injury was the natural progression of his March 2008 leg injury and the lumbar surgery that it required. See Cyr v. Crescent Wharf & Warehouse Co., 211 F.2d 454, 457 (9th Cir.1954).

ITT makes two attempts to rebut the statutory presumption. First, ITT argues that the light packing activity in which West engaged in August 2008 constituted an intervening cause that severed the causal connection to his work-related injury. However, the ALJ properly determined that, because it was not negligent for West to engage in light packing, any worsening of West’s condition that followed was…