Edney v. Life Ambulance Service, Inc.

Edney filed a claim with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), seeking benefits for an alleged workplace injury (chest pain) that occurred when “he began coughing and wheezing and became short of breath after being exposed to secondhand smoke from coworkers who were smoking in the workplace.”  The BWC denied his claim; on appeal, the Industrial Commission of Ohio also denied his claim.  Edney appealed to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, which granted summary judgment to the defendants.  The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Appellate District affirmed, ruling that “we conclude that appellant’s claim for chest pain was not compensable because he had not established that he suffered an injury within the statutory definition.”

2012 WL 4321163 (10th App. Dist. Ohio 2012).