WCAB: Preexisting Hypertension Caused Mendoza's Stroke

By John P. Kamin, Legal EditorAn incident with a hospital patient did not cause Amelia Mendoza to suffer a stroke that would eventually lead to her death, the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board ruled in a new panel decision.A WCAB panel concluded that substantial evidence showed that hypertension caused the Southern California nurse's stroke or death, reversing a workers' compensation judge's conclusion that her death was work-related. The WCAB handed down the ruling in Mendoza v. Huntington Hospital on July 19. The case attracted attention when the WCAB in 2009 iss...